Winslow Schott Jr
by Danvers10
Summary: This is a story about Supergirl's close friend and side kick Winn Schott. Winn received a letter of termination from his landlord which forces him to leave National City. He feels embarrassed about his situation and refuses to tell his friends about his whereabouts. Later on, he confronts his drug addict mom who kicks him out of her home with only a handful of money in his pocket
1. Chapter 1

_**WINSLOW SCHOTT JR**_

 **By Musab Tanveer**

 **1**

 **National City, 10:30 PM it was raining cats and dogs, and Winn couldn't stand waiting in line to get his duffel bag of Pot Stickers. It was a long line of people and time was certainly not on Winn's side. He was nervous about waking up early since tomorrow he had to arrange a video conference for Ms. Grant the head of Catco World Wide Media where he worked.**

 **He could see the people in front of him getting impatient, 'Who the hell is serving up there', yelled someone right at the front. 'Why the hell is this hold up going on'. This was now erupting into a proper brawl right before the stroke of midnight and Winn was anxiously looking at his modest looking cell phone to see the dreaded minutes ticking away in slow painful motion just when a rough nudge from the back broke me away from my reverie. 'Are you insane buddy'. Winn glanced around in shock and to his utter dismay someone else had sneaked in front of him and gotten ahead in the line. The person shouting at him was a rather stern looking and impatient individual who was getting mad by the minute since Winn's present screw up.**

' **Hey, what's the idea? You need to get at the back of the line'. Winn said to the violating person trying to sound as assertive as he could above the surface of pure dread and sadness that he was feeling at that point in time.**

' **Yea. I got in front, what are you going to do about it'? said the guy in front of him with a glare on his face. Winn didn't know how to react, people were staring at him and he felt humiliation in its truest sense. He had to wrap the duffel bag in his coat as he slowly trudged along to the bus stand; the apartment building where he lived was a few blocks away usually he would walk the distance with Chester his small Labrador but in a hailstorm such as this he really couldn't risk it. So with one hand carrying the coat and the other holding a small sheet over his head he splashed his sneakers on the pavement and edged closer to the stand. The storm was terrifying in the hour before midnight. Thunderclaps with the noise of magnified church bells slammed Winn's ears with crushing force, and heavy sheets of rain belted his body like a tear away Jet plane. With a great deal of effort he finally reached the stand and peered ahead to see the timings written on the notice board. 'Grey Hound last arrival – 11:00 PM'!**

 **15 minutes past eleven he could finally make out distant yellow lights and the sound of a diesel engine getting louder with each passing second. To Winn's dismay the bus driver didn't seem interested in stopping for passengers and Winn almost had to walk onto the middle of the road and wave his arms to stop the giant vehicle in its tracks. The bus conductor attempted to spat at him after coming out but Winn was too livid to become subdued by his arrogant attitude.**

 **Winn was really relieved when he could see Starling Avenue up ahead in the distance, the ride had been bumpy and sluggish and it appeared as if the driver and his conductor were just going through the motions and cooling off before reaching their sweet homes. Winn noticed that there were only three people besides him on the bus all looking like zombies who couldn't wait to get off that freaky road machine. He had to jump off the bus since the driver didn't even let him breathe as his stop finally arrived. His sneakers splashed into a heavy water puddle on the road as he stepped down. With the merciless sheets of rain pelting his whole body he also had to endure the painful jolt of dirty water splashing onto him from the bottom to the top of his polo shirt. He sighed and let out a heavy grunt as he began to cross the road towards the entrance of Starling Avenue. He was really hoping that Chester had been fed properly by Ms. Vandervaal his neighbor who lived on the same floor as him. His feet made wet smudgy footprints on the 14** **th** **floor terrace as at last he finally made his way towards the apartment entrance. The view outside was really scary, the wind howled with fearful force and the sound of thunderclaps made Winn's heart sink deep in fear.**

' **Finally, he arrives'. Ms. Vandervaal was really looking pissed as he stood next to her entrance door, eagerly hoping to see a smiling expression on Chester's face as he took possession of him again. 'Ms. Vandervaal, erm…thanks….for taking care of Chester while I was away'. As usual, Winn's grumpy and obnoxious neighbor simply scowled and rudely handed over his good pal Chester. Winn felt relieved knowing that at least Vandervaal had fed him well while he was away. Winn could deduce that by the way Chester merrily trotted towards him with his tongue lovingly coming out of his mouth. Once Winn had taken a full heart fulfilling shower with soothing hot water, he raided the refrigerator and brought out two double chocolate Cornetto cones. 'All thanks to Kara', Winn whispered adoringly as he began to lick the top layer of the cone and watched Chester gobble up the whole thing in one big mouthful. It was nearly half past midnight when he finally curled into his bed with the small frame of Chester lying across the room close to his bed.**

' **You know boy, Ms. Grant has a huge conference session tomorrow with Hilary. 'Yea, tough call right'. Winn muttered as he marveled at the way the kind faced Labrador took in every word he said with raised ears and an intense eye contact with his face.**

' **Chester boy'. Winn said with a smile. 'No matter how tough it gets out there you are the one who helps me keep it together'. 'Um…but Uh no… not just you….You and this lovely lady…right here'. Winn could almost believe that Chester had a wide grin on his face as he saw Kara's angelic picture which he had just showed him.**

 **A sudden movement on Winn's bed jolted him out of deep sleep, he thrashed his hands left and right and sat bolt upright on the bed trying to peer open his heavy eyelids. Woof! Woof! It was Chester again. 'Aw', Winn groaned. 'Down boy, down'! the fat little playful thing had hurled himself on Winn and was trying with all his strength to have a go at Winn's face with his tongue. 'Ugh…alright, alright'! Winn trudged slowly towards the refrigerator and took out a bowl of dog food to heat for his hungry companion. 'In one hour I have to haul my broken body into Catco and setup a video conference for the scariest boss in the media industry, and yet you have no sympathy for me', Winn said pretending to be offended as he glared playfully at his cuddly old friend. 'Woof'! Chester replied, and tore towards his food bowl, tail wagging nineteen to the dozen as he began to devour the meat with great force. Winn could only shrug his shoulders as he peered at his mobile and counted the few minutes he had before he would have no choice but to dash into the shower and get ready for work. As he lay In bed, he conjured stray thoughts which all involved Kara Danvers. He had great adoration for her ever since she had joined Catco and she was the only one who always steadied him when he got jittery and afraid while at work. 'Ever since I found out about her powers, I have never had so much respect for anybody else', Winn spoke out loud looking at Chester and imagined that he had taken in every word that Winn had just said. As the time to get up for work got closer, Winn began to feel more and more nervous. He really couldn't understand why he would feel this way because he had been in this job for more than five years now, he had gone through the rough times when he was just a shy and rookie employee in the large Catco IT department but before the start of the work day he always used to get a nervous sensation in his body. It was like a reflex emotion to him because it always used to infest his heart no matter how much he tried to avoid it.**

 **Winn was slow in getting ready because he felt hesitant about being the center of attention in Ms. Grant's humongous office room where everyone would have their focus on the way he set up her live video conference. There was a sudden knock on Winn's door which startled him and made Chester bark in a friendly way. The little thing hung out his tongue and his tail began to wag vigorously soon after the bell had been rung. 'Whose there boy'? Winn said rhetorically, as he walked towards the entrance door. 'Kara'! Winn said rather taken aback as soon as he saw her standing in the doorway.**

 **She had a box of donuts in hand along with two large chocolate milkshakes. She was wearing casual dress pants and a full sleeve light blue colored shirt for the office day and her spectacles gleamed from the light sunshine that pierced through the curtains of Winn's apartment. 'Winn, you look dazed, what's going on'? Kara asked with her infectious laugh that almost always made Winn laugh along as well except for now when he was looking all forlorn and jittery.**

' **Kara…heh…it's nothing…really…I mean…em…well, seeing you so early…heh heh…it is kind of surprising…em…especially…ah…with the storm last night and…em… you don't usually step into my apartment like this early…' Winn stammered nervously doing the awkward scratching on the right side of his neck with the right hand as he failed to pretend with her that he was keeping it together. 'Winn'… she put a finger to her lips and then placed both her hands as gently as She could on his shoulders even though being Supergirl her grip still felt strong despite her extreme care not to hurt him.**

' **Kara, I know I'm overreacting. I just feel strange I mean I have you know…worked at Catco for five years and'**

' **Winn, just hear me out'… Kara said with a forceful look in her eyes, she took his arm and led him to the tiny furniture he had managed to gather in his suffocating dingy looking apartment.**

' **You've been doing amazingly well at Catco. Do you remember a few months ago when the company's main servers were infected by a nasty computer virus. No one had a clue how to solve that problem apart from you.' She said soothingly, holding one of my hands in both of hers. Winn didn't look her in the eye, he just stared into empty space but his heart felt relieved and the sick feeling in his stomach began to slowly fade away as he saw her smile at him with that kind face so many people all over the world admired as the one belonging to Supergirl.**

' **This is a cake walk Winn, just take a deep breath and walk with me into the place'. She said looking deep into Winn's eyes as she spoke the words.**

 **After hearing that Winn really couldn't smother the smile that was slowly starting to emerge in the corners of his mouth and then to his utter astonishment he found myself laughing along with Kara. It was like the synchronization you get to experience in a musical choir. Him laughing together with her was the most infectious voice that he could possibly ever listen to and it really surprised him because just a while ago he had been feeling sick to his stomach about the activity he was about to perform at Catco.**

 **The ride to the company building passed by in a whirl and Winn soon found himself sitting at his desk and gearing up for the live conference. Ms. Grant didn't wait around and before he knew it he was summoned into her office to get the live feed ready. During times like this he just wished that he would only do the regular stuff mentioned in his job description like setting up firewalls and handling antivirus updates because it was extremely terrifying to go up to the room of the CEO and set up a live feed with so many people having their eyes on him like that.**

 **Ms. Grant's office space was nearly more than half the size of the rest of the top floor of Catco plaza and everyone's desks were all sandwiched together within that place; so when Winn got up from his desk and walked towards Ms. Grant's office he began to feel rather self conscious about the fact that people were staring at him. He glanced around the square and struggled to find Kara's desk due to the panic he felt. He felt surprised that he couldn't see her anywhere when suddenly he almost bumped into her as she came towards him. 'Ah, Winn you forgot your tools'. She placed the network equipment in his hands and gave them a squeeze to comfort him.**

' **You're going to be fine buddy. Just go out there and be yourself'. She said in her usual soothing voice.**

' **I'm waiting'! Ms. Grant said in a sharp voice from across her room. 'Okay. I'm here Ms. Grant'. Winn said to her in a hurried voice and saw Kara give him a wide smile as she saw the sudden confidence and positivity appear on his face.**

' **You're about fifteen minutes late IT guy. Do you realize who I am supposed to speak to just Now.' Ms. Grant said looking at her watch with contempt and a smirk on her face. Now that Winn was in her room he didn't feel the terror he had been feeling a while ago and Kara's kind words and encouragement had given him the kind of boost to really give everything he had to the task at hand. 'I'm almost done, Ms. Grant', Winn said trying to sound as confident as he could when he spoke the words.**

' **Well for your job's sake I hope you are, in most circumstances I do not tolerate such mishaps'. Ms. Grant retorted in a vicious tone.**

' **There it's done, and we are good to go'. Winn felt a strong rush of ease and comfort in his heart as he spoke those words and saw the live feed begin on the giant Tv screens straight in front of Ms. Grant's sprawling office furniture. 'Good', she said as she gathered herself in her large black leather chair and prepared herself for the broadcast. 'Get Kara to bring me the special decaf from Noonan's with lunch'. She said and dismissed him with a wave of her hand as he gathered his tools to leave.**

 **The rest of the day went by uneventfully; Winn talked to Kara and James when he took his usual breaks during the work day. James was mostly talking about Clark and the way that he juggled his day job with the superhero acts that he performed as Superman. Winn hadn't met Clark personally but he always felt that Kara was the best superhero in the world. James tried to act like a male chauvinist whenever he discussed about Kara as Supergirl but both Winn and Kara knew deep down that he well and truly admired her and also carried deep feelings for her.**

 **At the end of each day, Winn was always the one who tried to leave work the soonest and that was because he didn't want anyone to see that unlike nearly everyone working in the company he could not afford a car of his own and had to take the bus back home each day so that he could save enough money before he got his next pay check. He kept this fact hidden even from Kara with whom he felt he could share almost anything in the whole world. Today was again no different as he yet again went through the same old drill. Luckily there was really nothing he was doing at work when the clock struck 5:15 PM which was his queue to get away from the place as quickly as possible. Winn didn't have to wait for his escape since no one was close to his work station at the time which was why he soon found myself at the exit gate of Catco plaza.**

 **Winn dashed to the bus stop and sat on the bench hoping no one coming out of Catco would see him there. It did feel strange to Winn; getting out of the office waiting for the next Grey Hound to take him to Starling Avenue because his usual routine had always been to walk through back alleys until he reached the main highway from where the buses used to ply on their everyday routes. As Winn sat waiting, he thought about how ridiculous it would seem if He told anybody why he did this on a routine basis. Why would anyone be stupid enough to walk such a long way when the subway was only a small distance from the CatCo building? In fact most employees in CatCo did not even have to use the subway because they all used to commute between work and home through their cars. The grey hound did thankfully arrive exactly at its appointed time. There were only a handful of people that got on board including Winn as the large locomotive screeched to a halt next to the bus stand. Winn went into a deep reverie as the bus finally began to lumber across the road, its engine giving out a deep rumbling sound as the driver began to harden his grip on the accelerator.**

 **He remembered the one time that Kara had caught him leaving work on foot. He was leaving early as usual that day and accidentally had to stop for a few minutes outside the exit door to attend a call from his landlord when Kara arrived on the scene and surprised him.**

' **Winn, what's going on'? why hasn't your brother arrived yet?**

' **Err…well, he's…he's a little late today Kara. Ha ha, you know office issues'.**

' **Well tell him to go home himself then because I'm taking you home today'.**

 **Winn couldn't excuse himself after that because once Kara made up her mind about something it was almost impossible to refuse her.**

 **She had a flashy looking black sedan which she always used to park on the ground floor each day she came to work. Winn had only been in her car a few times before because he had this negative feeling that other people in the company would perceive him as a wuss if they found out that Kara was always picking and dropping him home.**

 **Winn remembered how that day he had been unable to avoid blurting out the whole truth to Kara regarding the sneaky exit he made from Catco. There was really something amazing about Kara which shattered his defenses like a rock splintering a glass window. He believed it was the charisma in her personality that always made him confess the truth to her every time. He felt overwhelmed when he felt such an intense level of empathy and kindness from a woman who could literally bend steel with her bare hands and squat even the most Strongest human being on earth like a fly.**

 **Kara had listened intently to Winn's whole rant and had only nodded and said just a few words in between as she drove him in her car to his apartment. It was only when he had finished talking that she finally spoke to him .**

' **Winn, I'm really glad you confided in me with this'. She calmly said and patted his hand with hers. 'You could have told me sooner you know I would never expose you to anybody'.**

 **Later when they arrived at the entrance of Starling Avenue, Kara offered to give Winn a ride back home each day after work despite the fact that she lived quite a fair distance away.**

 **Winn had tried to refuse her but Kara wouldn't have no for an answer and since that day she had made it a point to always take him home in her car. She had even asked James to stop the other office staff from picking on him for not having his own transportation. However, despite all that Winn still used to try and not let Kara deal with the extra effort of dropping him home due to the large distance in between.**

' **Edgemont passengers exit the bus'. Winn was awakened from his reverie by the loud screaming of the bus conductor. The conductor seemed irritated when Winn did not buck up like the rest of the passengers after the announcement.**

' **Final Call', He was now giving Winn a stern look as he spoke those threatening words. Winn scampered from the bus in panic nearly falling onto the road with his back pack as the bus conductor gave him a final disdainful look and went inside before the automatic doors of the bus were finally closed. 'Whew, that was a close one'. Winn quietly spoke to myself as he walked back to collect Chester from Ms. Vanderwaal. After he had rapped on the door twice, Ms. Vanderwaal's son opened the door. 'Hey, Mike'. Winn said as a short petite looking boy with wavy golden hair looked at him with a slight grin on his face.**

' **Hey Winn, he replied giving him a high five as he spoke. Unlike his mother, Mike was a really sweet kid. He looked after Chester as much as he could in Winn's absence and this was the main reason why he was always so comfortable giving away Chester to the Vanderwaal household. Mike had been a real help to Winn ever since he had fixed him his play station a few years ago.**

 **Mike had gotten it on his 14** **th** **birthday and to his real bad luck, some devious kids from his class broke the gadget while they fooled around playing video games in his house. Winn was walking down from his apartment onto the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon when he had heard the loud muffled sobs coming from his apartment coupled with a harsh tirade of abuses that were coming from Ms. Vanderwaal's mouth. He had always kept a mild mannered approach with Ms. Vanderwaal but this time he gave her a piece of his mind and told her to stop blaming the poor kid.**

' **Okay. That's enough Ms. Vanderwaal. Accidents happen! Please don't go after the kid like that'. Winn had said. Ms. Vanderwaal would normally have retorted with some harsh remark to anyone's outburst but this time she surprisingly felt ashamed about what she had just done. However, it was just too much for her to speak a gentle word and soothe her son's feelings so she gave both Mike and Winn a cold hard stare before finally walking away into her room and closing the door behind her. Later when Mike had calmed himself down Winn had asked Mike to show him the playstation that was damaged. Winn promised the little boy that he would get the thing fixed as fast as he could and kept his word after saying so.**

 **It was because of this episode that Mike had become so sweet and helpful towards Winn.**

 **Coming back to the present moment Mike rubbed Chester's neck with a loving hand before handing him over to Winn.**

' **Winn do feed him quickly, I gave him as much as I could but you know how difficult my mother can be'. Winn eyed and grinned at him before he turned his head towards his apartment with Chester trotting merrily at his heels.**

' **Oh, and Winn'. He spun around again to see Mike running towards him waving an envelope with his hand.**

' **The courier asked to give you this when you returned'.**

 **Winn began to scratch the envelope as soon as he received it feeling rather surprised because no one had sent him snail mail in a rather long time. Standing in the doorway of the Vanderwaal's house, he felt a sudden pang of shock as he read the letter's headline written in large bold letters:**

 **NOTICE OF REVOCATION FOR MR. WINSLOW SCHOTT JR**

 **For a few seconds Winn just stood and stared in shock at the big fat headline that was now piercing his soul with a dozen spades.**

' **Winn, sit here'. Mike eyed him with a concerned look on his face as Winn stood motionless and in a state of deep shock. Winn sank onto the big and wide white colored sofa of Ms. Vandervaal's overly decorated living room with his eyes rolling continuously in his face in shock and bewilderment. Chester realized the tension in the air and slowly trotted up to Winn and placed his furry little head on his master's lap.**

' **Here's some water'. Mike had gone to the fridge in the meantime to get some fluid to help Winn to relax. 'Thank you, buddy'. Winn replied softly with a long sigh before placing the letter onto the table and scratching his head in irritation. Mike kept sitting close to his friend without saying a word; he felt upset seeing Winn act like this and what made him feel worse was the fact that he couldn't really say or do anything to make him feel better. After spending some time on the couch with a great deal of anxiety all over his face, Winn finally got up to leave the Vandervaal residence. He turned around to face Mike just as he was about to step outside the house. 'Mike'. He said with a rather depressed and concerned tone in his voice. 'What is it Winn? What's going on buddy? Why are you suddenly feeling like the sky fell over you man? Mike said eyeing his friend sharply and with genuine concern in his voice.**

 **Winn didn't reply before revealing a saddened look on his face.**

' **Mike, I'm afraid I have to leave the city'.**

' **What! Why?**

' **It's kind of hard to say. You know. Ah… personal issues'. Mike noticed that Winn was nervously scratching his head as he spoke the words.**

' **Please tell Kara that I went out of the city for a job interview. I don't want her to worry about me'.**

' **Winn at least fill me in on what's been going on. You're really starting to scare me man', said a rather frazzled looking Mike who was now really starting to feel afraid of the prevailing situation.**

' **Trust me dude. I'll be back as soon as I can'. Winn replied as he gently squeezed Mike's shoulder and ruffled his wavy golden hair.**

' **Please stay strong and take care of this little fella for me'. Winn gently shook Chester's fluffy brown hair as he spoke.**

' **Do call me as soon as you can buddy'. Winn nodded in reply.**

 **2**

 **Kara was gently rinsing her teeth to make sure that she didn't break her toothbrush due to her incredible strength. As she moved the tiny stick to and fro she began to remember the way her mother Alura had taught her to brush teeth back on Krypton. Being so young she wasn't even tall enough to see herself properly above the wash basin but even though it did bother her that she couldn't see herself, the toothbrush exercise was still done perfectly. She remembered how Alura used to smile at her as the tiny robot 'Acerex' used his mechanical arm to rinse Kara's tiny little teeth with the shiny little smoothly shaped toothbrush.**

 **Kara was still deep in thought even after she had finished brushing her teeth and it wasn't until her elder sister Alex shook both her shoulders that she finally came out of her trance.**

' **Kara were you lost somewhere'. Alex remarked as she looked deep into her sister's eyes with a confused look on her face.**

' **I don't know I guess my memory was triggered as I was brushing my teeth', Kara said shaking her head and laughing as she looked back at her sister.**

' **Well get your head out of the clouds Miss goof ball, you just got a call from work while you were day dreaming in here'. Alex said giving Kara a friendly glare as she spoke the words.**

 **Kara immediately became shocked as Alex told her that it was Cat Grant herself who had called her just a while ago. She dashed out of the washroom and grabbed her mobile from her dresser to call back Ms. Grant. Before she made the call she was even more alarmed to find out that Cat Grant had already called her twice within the space of ten minutes.**

' **Y…Yes Ms. Grant'.**

' **Keerah, it's almost time to reach the office and you just happened to ignore my calls twice before that hot head sister of yours snapped at me in an annoyingly harsh tone, saying that I should lower my tone with her'.**

' **Well…y..yes Ms. Grant I was not in my room so my sister picked up for me, her room is at a fair distance from my own so it takes her some time to reach mine I guess'. Kara laughed nervously in between her sentences while she was speaking.**

' **Okay. Well even though your explanation is wayward like usual, I am faced with a more pressing issue at the present time'. Cat retorted in a mildly sharp tone.**

 **After a brief pause on the line she continued, 'I haven't seen Wit arrive at work yet Keerah, where is my IT guy when I need to set up a high profile interview with Donald Trump'.**

' **Ah…well Ms. Grant no worries at all, I'm sure he's already rushing to work as we speak'.**

' **Well, he better hurry before I snap my fingers and give HR the instruction to find me a new tech guy'.**

' **I am right on it Ms. Grant'.**

' **Um…well… hurry up'.**

 **Kara felt a bit shocked after her conversation ended with Ms. Grant and stood in silence close to her bed side table before moving towards her wardrobe cupboard to take out her dress for the work day.**

' **Kara what did Cat say to you on the phone'?**

' **Well… she was definitely not happy about what you told her to do'. Kara gave out a nervous laugh as she spoke the words.**

' **I wasn't talking about what she said to me Kara'. Alex replied smartly with her usual wry smile and glaring eyes, the kind of look Kara was all too familiar with whenever Alex had discovered she was nervous about something.**

 **Kara wasn't surprised when she found herself revealing her true feelings to her big sister the moment after Alex spoke those words. The sister bond between them was just too deep and strong.**

' **I'm disturbed because Cat just told me over the phone that Winn hadn't showed up for work yet Alex. It's not like him to not show up for work when Ms. Grant has a video conference planned with presidential candidates. Just yesterday, she had him set up a video conference with Hilary and today she was supposed to have a special Q &A with Donald Trump'. **

' **I'm surprised she hasn't grilled the old gun Bernie Sanders yet'. Alex laughed sharply and made Kara smile and chuckle in return.**

' **Just call him up and calm his nerves Kara. I'm sure he'd be at his apartment right now half dressed and confused about whether to run from the challenge or face it'.**

 **Kara gave out a little sigh as she picked up her phone and called Winn. She waited patiently hoping that Winn would eventually pick up and say 'hello' like he normally did when she called but there was no response. Now Kara was even more worried, she called both James and Lucy but neither one had spoken to Winn that day.**

' **It is rather strange'. James admitted when Kara told him about the issue.**

' **He may have had the butterflies Kara but he usually does show up for work later after you've talked to him', James continued.**

' **I'm really starting to worry now James. I mean it's not just Winn but now I also have to show up late for work and now whose going to set up Ms. Grant's conference if he isn't there'.**

 **Kara muttered anxiously.**

' **Now…now… just don't worry about Cat alright, me and Lucy will deal with her today. You just go to Winn's apartment and find out what's going on'. James replied to her reassuringly.**

' **Thank you James. You're always such a big help to me. I don't know what I'd do without you'.**

' **Nah don't mention it Kara. Just let me know what you find out alright'. James said lighting chewing up a bite of his favorite pepperoni before he hung up.**

 **After that Kara called Winn's landline phone and then called his cell phone twice but there was no response. Now Kara was feeling even more worried than before, she quickly informed Alex that She was heading to Winn's apartment to check on him.**

 **Alex told her to calm down. 'I'm sure he's holed up at his apartment Kara and too anxious to talk to anyone about his dilemma. Setting up two live feeds back to back is probably just too much for a sensitive guy like him'. 'Alex I still have to find out what's wrong. Please let Ms. Grant know I'm off to meet Winn in case she calls again'. Kara replied as she took her car keys from the key chain holder and walked out of her apartment.**

 **Kara had a bad feeling in her heart the whole time as she drove from her apartment to Winn's. The distance was hardly a few miles so it wasn't long before she found herself parking her silver black sedan in the parking lot of Starling Avenue. She was much quicker than usual in walking out of the elevator after it had reached the 14** **th** **floor and was seriously surprised and shocked when she saw that Winn's apartment was locked and bolted from the outside. She gave a slight twitch to her glasses, which was an act that she usually did when she was feeling really nervous and once again checked her phone to see whether Winn had finally called her back or left a text. However, to her dismay all she could see were two missed calls and an angry text from Cat Grant asking her to call back immediately.**

' **I just can't find any peace in life due to that woman'. Kara said out loud with a sigh and a troubled and exasperated expression on her face.**

 **Cat picked up at the other end after just one beep.**

' **Keerah! I've been trying to reach you since the past 45 minutes. What the hell is going on with that stupid little tech freak I made such a mistake to hire. I have no time to deal with such foolishness and irresponsibility. When you find him tell him that he's fi…**

' **Miss Grant'! Kara said in a rather firm tone so that she could interrupt Cat's angry tirade successfully.**

' **I think something bad has happened to Winn. Please don't do anything rash right now. Give him a chance. I'm sure there's a solid explanation for all this'.**

' **Well…ah.. well okay… but if you want to let that scrawny little pet friend of yours walk through my doors again. You better have a jolly good explanation for me Keerah. I've had to endure more than half an hour of pure dread and perspiration because I was supposed to go live this morning and have a substantial amount of verbal judo with a certain presidential candidate'.**

' **I truly understand that Ms. Grant and I am really sorry. I will… I will find Winn as soon as I can and have him back at the office'. All Kara heard in reply was a click at the other end as Cat Grant hung up the phone. Kara looked at her own phone with a slight smirk and set her sight on the Vanderwaal's apartment'. I hope that mean lady is away from the apartment', Kara thought to herself as she tried to press the bell button into the socket due to her anxiety.**

 **She only had to wait for a few short minutes much to her relief, before the door opened and a petite looking boy of average height and wavy golden hair peered outside at her.**

' **Hi, Mike'. Kara said smiling and greeting the little boy cheerfully.**

 **Mike returned the greeting to her politely although Kara noticed that he looked slightly off and kind of jittery to her after showing himself. Coming straight to the point Kara asked him about Winn.**

' **He just told me to inform you that he had gone outside the city for a job search'. Mike said in a jittery voice just as Chester came running towards the both of them barking loudly after he saw Kara standing in the doorway. He was feeling rather forlorn since Winn had left him with Mike so seeing Kara was an extremely pleasing sight to the chubby little Labrador. After Winn, she was his most beloved person in the world.**

' **What, a job search?' Kara remarked with a puzzled expression on her face as she lovingly scratched Chester's head.**

 **Mike nodded at her, a worried expression quite visible on his face.**

' **I'm feeling worried since he left'. Mike admitted in an anxious tone. 'He looked really worried since he saw the letter I gave him'.**

' **Which letter was that?' Kara asked still feeling puzzled by the disturbing situation at hand.**

' **It was given to me by the mailman this morning. Winn isn't home during the morning on weekdays so the mailman delivers his snail mail to us'.**

' **So you just handed it to him and he didn't tell you what it said'.**

 **Mike shook his head in disappointment. 'I wish I knew more Miss Kara'.**

 **Kara smiled sympathetically at the little boy. Being an only child she understood how much he looked up to Winn as a big brother and a friend. It must have been excruciating for him to know that Winn had departed like that without letting him know when he would be back again. 'Don't worry sweet heart. I will find out where he's gone and we will both see him again very soon, I promise'. She said patting and giving a gentle tap on the right side of his face. Mike said nothing and just nodded at her with a solemn look on his small face.**

 **Kara decided to rest herself for a while when Mike informed her that Mrs. Vandervaal was away at work and wouldn't be home till the end of the day. She took a glass of water patting Chester's head all the while that she drank. She could tell that Mike was really grateful for the company and personally felt sorry for the poor kid who as Winn had informed her earlier had been bullied regularly at school and had to deal with the emotional scars of a painful separation between his parents at such a young age. Ever since she had stood up for him at school one day his class mates had stopped picking on him because they knew that Supergirl had his back but still no one really gave him much attention the entire time he was at school.**

 **That's why Kara had decided to take this opportunity to spend time with Mike while she calmed her nerves before asking Mike to give her the phone number of the post man who delivered Winn's snail mail. She tried but she couldn't connect with the post man on his cell phone number so she noted the address of the post office branch where he worked and left the building after giving Mike a tight bear hug and asking him to take care of himself and Chester.**

' **Please let me know if you find anything Miss Kara'.**

' **I will certainly let you know honey. Please stay safe and happy for me okay.' Kara said shaking her fingers and smiling at him before she got into her car and left the building.**

 **She got a call from James Olsen just after she pulled out from the parking lot of Starling Avenue.**

 **However, she decided to call him back later and left him a one line message to mention just that. She felt relieved that Ms. Grant had not called her the entire time that she had been in the Vandervaal house with Mike. She felt a lot of gratitude for James for backing her up in the middle of this difficult situation where no one had any idea where Winn had suddenly disappeared. The distance between Starling and the post office branch wasn't that long and that's why Kara found herself parking her car near its entrance gate in only a short space of time. The post office building looked shabby and in dire need of a new coat of paint, the path leading to the main office block appeared in need of proper housekeeping and maintenance since it was lined with flowers that looked half dead in their pots and also the floor was quite clearly unsafe for pedestrians to walk since it had some large cracks in between for anyone who walked through it from the entrance gate to the entrance door of the office block.**

 **Kara could only see a wide open space when she went inside. There was no furniture visible over there and no rooms for desk job employees either. She kept walking for a little while feeling a bit dazed by the fact that she couldn't see anything apart from the floor and the ceiling inside the block. However, she finally found a large desk way up ahead as she used her X-ray vision to scan the entire area. 'What kind of fool did these people hire for interior design', she thought to herself as she began to walk briskly towards the desk after spotting it.**

 **She didn't waste much time and soon found herself looking at a few wooden chairs and a large table close to the desk that she had spotted earlier. A big burly man was sitting behind the desk reading the morning paper as he smoked a cigar letting out thick puffs of air as he exhaled from his lungs. The guy was short, bald and chubby with an ill kept beard and not so tidy overalls. Kara knew the moment he saw him that he wouldn't be of much help unless she gave him some money for a favor.**

' **Yea'? The guy asked in a sharp tone glaring at Kara as he let out the words.**

' **I'm… ah looking for Tibias cage, ah… the post man who delivers mail to Starling Avenue'.**

 **Kara replied pressing her glasses to her face as she spoke.**

 **The guy behind the desk kept glaring at her quizzically until he finally spoke again.**

' **Tibias cage?' no.. never heard of him'. He replied with a look of disdain on his chubby looking face.**

' **But I know he comes over there early morning. I've seen him myself a number of times'. Kara was feeling very agitated by the drab and lifeless atmosphere and the lackluster feedback that she was getting from that guy.**

' **Listen here lady. I've got work to do alright'. The guy retorted impatiently. 'Just retrace your steps and go back where you came from'.**

 **Kara was now getting livid due to this serious lack of cooperation and for an instant she almost lost her patience wanting to punish the crooked guy with her super strength. However, she was able to catch herself in time and avoid inflicting damage upon herself due to recklessness. So instead of blowing the lights out of the guy in front of her she only gave him a steely glare instead. 'Well… thanks for nothing', she remarked trying to sound as angry as possible. The guy behind the counter just shrugged his shoulders and made a face at her enjoying the fact that he had offended her.**

 **Kara walked away a few paces from where the guy was sitting and then used her 'super hearing' ability to try and find out if anyone else was present in the office block that day. 'Surely there must be someone out there right now. Maybe I'll even get to hear someone say Tibias cage out loud'. Kara thought to herself as she removed all other thoughts from her mind and forced it to focus only on the continuously overlapping sounds that were now colliding furiously onto her ear drums. With the passage of time, Kara had successfully learnt how to only focus on those noises which she needed to hear and block out everything else that came along with them. It did not take her long to hear noises coming from just a little distance away within the same office block. It was quite a banter that appeared to be taking place between a group of people who were very close by.**

 **Having heard them talk, Kara wasted no time and moved into the direction from which the voices were coming from. It was a long passage which kept getting lengthier as she walked towards the right side of the large desk of the arrogant person with whom she had just had an unhelpful conversation. The passage was just as drab and empty as the rest of the office block she had just been through. Kara had a long smirk on her face when she saw dirt and dust scattered all across the floor tiles, the peeling paint on the side walls and the poor condition of the doors to the office rooms lined up in single file across the area. After walking or rather 'crawling like a snail' (from a kryptonian's point of view) Kara found herself gazing at a door that was much broader in size than the ones she had seen on her way through the passage. On the center of the room the word 'Canteen' was written in large block letters, and Kara could hear muffled voices coming from inside which were of course much clearer this time since she was now just inches away from them. She didn't hesitate and rapped at the door forcefully. The door opened up in no time and a large burly man stood in the doorway glaring at her.**

 **Yeah? He said in a sharp tone.**

' **I want to see Tibias Cage right now'. Kara replied impatiently. She was now feeling extremely irritated by this deplorable and shabby looking place and it's twisted, mean and unhelpful inhabitants.**

' **Tibias'? Kara was now on the verge of a major rage blackout since this guy was also fooling around with her like the one before him. He had a playful and sly expression on his face which clearly indicated that he wished to inflict further harassment.**

' **Tell me where he is right now'! Kara had literally shaken up the entire room with a violent high pitched shriek. She glared at the man and raised her arm as if about to punch right in the center of his sly nasty looking face.**

' **Cut it out Ed ya big douche'. said someone sitting at the very end of the room. The person who had spoken got up from his seat and walked up to where they were standing.**

' **This is he'. The other guy said in a hushed tone apparently unimpressed by the sudden and forced conversation with Kara.**

' **You deliver mail to Starling Avenue'. Kara jumped straight to the point.**

' **Yes so'. Tibias folded his arms as he spoke the words.**

' **Well, my friend Winn he lives on the fourth floor. He got a mail from someone yesterday. I want to know who it was from'.**

' **What's in it for me princess? I don't give away privileged information. Unless of course ah…' Ed and the other people behind him laughed in unison as Tibias made a face at them with a dirty look in his eye. Kara felt a rush of anger boiling inside her when she saw the low lives laughing foolishly in front of her. But she wisely restrained herself from making a mistake that she would seriously regret. She could have easily skinned everyone of them alive in less than a second if she had used her brute strength but she knew that doing so would force her to reveal her secret despite the fact that it could bring the ill mannered Tibias to his senses. So instead Kara channeled her anger and used her intelligence to find a way out of the dilemma.**

' **We'll see how much you laugh when you're out in the police torture cell where they beat the hell out of you until you reveal the name of the person that sent the letter'.**

 **Tibias looked a bit nervous after hearing that even though he tried his best not to show it.**

' **What nonsense is this? Are you threatening me lady? His tone was harsh and menacing as he spoke. However, Kara did not flinch for even a fraction of a second.**

' **Well, Mr. bananas I won't even need to say a single word to you when the police find out that you've been hiding information that is necessary to help locate a missing person'. Kara said forcefully.**

' **Winn has been missing from home since last evening'. Kara continued after seeing the surprised and dubious expression quite apparent on Tibias' face. 'His disappearance is directly linked to the letter that you delivered to him. I need to know from where you took that letter Tibias'.**

 **Everyone in the room had now gone silent and they were all looking at Tibias to see when he would respond to Kara. 'It was that guy Winn's landlord, Francis Malone. He was the one who handed me that letter'. Tibias finally said after prancing around for quite some time.**

 **Kara heaved a sigh of relief after Tibias gave her Malone's address. She did not even say good bye before leaving because she had been through a great deal of turmoil in that disgusting Post Office branch and she could not wait to move away from the place as quickly as she could. After leaving the building she quickly started the car and began to drive as fast as she could to find out what Malone had sent Winn. While she was driving she got a call from Alex asking her what was happening. Kara informed her sister how she had to grind the postman Tibias for the information on Winn and that she was heading out towards Malone's residence to find out exactly what was so shocking in his letter that had made him run off from home like that. 'I hope you find what you're looking for Kara. It's a real shock to find this out about Winn especially since he's joined the DEO full time and been such a wonderful asset to the team'. Alex had commented before she and Kara hung up their phones on either end.**

 **Kara reached the place soon after ending the call from Alex. She got out from the car and used the automatic system in her car keys to lock the doors and bolt all the windows before proceeding towards the entrance door of Malone's residence. She had only taken a few steps from her car when she saw Ms. Grant's incoming call.**

' **Yes Ms. Grant'. She said in a hushed tone feeling surprised at her nervousness.**

' **Keerah where on God's earth have you been this whole day'. Kara felt alarmed when she heard this. She remembered that she had already asked James earlier to inform Siobhan to cover for her while she was looking for Winn.**

' **Miss Grant… I had told James…' she was cut off in mid sentence.**

' **Keerah… is James my personal assistant or are you'? Kara tried her best to calm Cat Grant down when she found out to her utter dismay that no one had gone to Ms. Grant's room to serve lunch that day and that she had had to wait for more than half an hour for one of her IT guys to set up the live feed for the video discussion with Donald Trump.**

' **Miss Grant, I am so sorry for all this trouble. I will make sure that this doesn't happen again'.**

 **However, Cat was still not at all satisfied and gave some very harsh remarks to Kara before finally hanging up. Kara let out a heavy sigh, after having to go through so much criticism. She felt really angry at James for letting her down like that, especially after knowing how important it was for her to take a break from the office that day and find out about Winn. However, she knew quite well that now was not the time to blame herself or worry about Cat Grant. She had finally made it to the place she wanted to be at and so it was finally time for her to get some answers.**

 **The place where Kara parked her black sedan was a clean parking lot outside of the large house where Malone lived. As Kara walked up to a large broad black colored entrance gate the top of which was fenced with barbed wire with a small white video camera situated at the top right corner of the side wall, she noticed how different this locality was from the ramshackle post office she had just been in. This area was like the upper east side of National City where some of the most wealthy and influential people in the states had their residences. 'This guy must be extremely rich'. Kara thought to herself as she pressed her index finger on the small red bell button. No one opened the door as she stood waiting for someone to arrive so she had to ring the bell twice more before she finally heard someone give a shout from inside. 'Whose there'? the voice was female and rather unpleasant and annoyed as Kara deduced from the tone. It was followed by a loud volley of barking by a supposedly large and angry dog judging by the high and deep pitch of the noise.**

' **My name is Kara Danvers. I'm here to meet Mr. Malone'. Kara replied trying to be as firm and confident as possible after being rather taken aback by such a harsh and unpleasant welcome. There was silence for a few minutes but just as Kara began to wonder that the woman inside had deliberately ignored her; the front door was pulled open and a broad black woman of average height stood at the front door looking at Kara with a mean look on her face. She had short neatly trimmed jet black hair, she wore a light black colored t-shirt with a large image of Nicky Minaj drawn at the center of it and plain white trousers. She also wore a silver necklace and had a small tattoo of a cougar on her left wrist. The large black and white bull dog who had barked after her was looking at Kara with an unwelcoming stare and continuously revealing his sharp pointed teeth as he continued to stare at her.**

' **Why, you looking for Malone huh'? the woman drawled in her black American accent.**

' **Well, I'm here because of my friend Winn'.**

' **Winn, what's a Winn...a baseball Win? The woman laughed sarcastically making the bull dog bark loudly as he continued to glare away at Kara.**

' **Winn is my friend. He's a tenant of Mr. Malone and…' Kara's sentence was cut short just as She was about to complete it.**

' **And this concerns me why?' the woman asked as she folded her arms and the expression on her face turned from sarcastic amusement to a mean looking frown.**

' **Well it concerns you absolutely because my friend got a letter from Malone yesterday evening and he's been missing since then. So unless you want the police to know that you're not cooperating in a missing person's investigation, you better take me to Malone and let me ask him some questions'. Kara was fuming and full of rage because the woman had just made her lose the end of all her patience especially after all the pain she had been through ever since she had woken up that day.**

 **The woman rolled her eyes and scowled at Kara in frustration. 'Malone! Hey, Malone! Come here right now and stop washing that bloody old dog for a minute'. The woman cried.**

 **Kara pressed her glasses onto her eyes with her right hand upon hearing the loud voice of the woman; a thing she usually did when she was feeling anxious due to some unpleasant occurrence. The woman waited with the bull dog at her heels for a few moments along with Kara. She had her hands on her hips and was chewing her gum impatiently, her scorn getting more and more apparent as she waited for Malone to show up. The woman was about to leave the entrance gate in fury and exasperation when finally they heard footsteps and muffled barking a short distance away from where they stood. Kara could make out the distant frame of a tall broad shouldered man walking vigorously towards them with a big hairy looking Cocker Spaniel at his heels. As they drew closer, Kara discovered that the man was close to middle age. He wore a big black colored cowboy hat and had a glowing clean shaven and chiseled face. There was a strong pleasant smell of cologne swirling into the air from his body. He wore a light green open neck polo shirt with light black faded jeans and a good looking pair of dark shades which he removed from his eyes after he had finished walking up to Kara and the woman with her bull dog. Kara was half expecting the two dogs to bark and snap their teeth at each other but surprisingly to her they were both very docile and quiet when they were standing just a few feet away from other.**

' **This woman here's been getting on nerves since the past half an hour'. The black lady exclaimed moving her hands in the air to express her agitation. Malone didn't happen to take any notice of her reaction; he smiled, shook hands with Kara and introduced himself to her.**

' **My name is Vincent Malone. Is there something I can help you with?' he said smiling all the while as he spoke. The woman shook her head once more and left with the now rather docile and friendly looking bull dog trotting slowly behind her heels.**

' **Sorry about Cassandra there. She's been in a foul mood lately because of our dad'. Malone said in a friendly voice.**

' **That explains the stern spiteful attitude then'. Kara enjoyed the playfulness after all the rough behavior she had been forced to bear from the people whom she had met that day.**

 **Malone winked and had a wry smile on his face after hearing Kara's response.**

' **I'm here for my friend Winn'. Kara decided to get straight to the point because she felt that she wouldn't be able to resist Malone's alluring boyish charm if she continued with the small talk any further. Malone was very friendly and receptive to Kara's story which she told him as precisely and shortly as she could. When she had finished talking, he looked apologetically at her as he gave her the explanation she had been so eager to receive ever since finding out that Winn had disappeared.**

' **My dad is the one who owns that apartment'. Malone explained. 'He's been sending notices to your friend since the past few months regarding his outstanding rent payments but a lot of that outstanding amount was still due despite frequent reminders'.**

' **And so your dad decided to send Winn a final notice'. Kara scoffed in anger and disappointment shaking her head.**

' **I'm really sorry. I don't have much sway with my dad. I tried to reason with him and asked him to give your friend a chance. Honestly, I've never thrown out any tenant as per my own decision but this apartment was not in my ownership otherwise I…' Kara stopped Malone from continuing with the blabber because she'd gotten the information she needed and didn't like to see a friendly looking person like him embarrassing himself in front of her for something he hadn't done.**

' **It's okay Mr. Malone. Thank you for your time'. Kara said smiling at the friendly looking guy in front of her.**

' **Please stay for a while at least and have some wine and supper with us'. Malone asked her courteously.**

' **No thank you. I really must be going and do what I can to locate my friend'. Kara replied.**

 **Malone gave her his best wishes and gave her his contact number in case she needed anything else from him.**

' **Do let me know how it turns out'. Malone called out to her, scratching the head of his lovely dog as he spoke.**

' **I will. Thank you so much again for your help'. Kara smiled and waved back at him as she gunned the engine. Kara's next stop was Lucy and James' apartment which was quite a fair distance away from Malone's residency and right on the edge of National City. Not only was she eager to update him and Lucy about the news she had received about Winn but she had also been meaning to find out why James hadn't backed her up like he would normally do. In her heart she had a sinking feeling that something bad must have happened to James as well. 'I don't think that I've ever witnessed a day as bad as this one during all the time I've been here on this planet'. Kara thought to herself as she continued to drive towards her destination.**

 **It wasn't long before Kara was standing outside Lucy and James' apartment rapping sharply at the entrance door. The apartment was on the tenth floor of the fifteen story building, it was right in the middle of the floor and just a few paces from the elevator and the stairs. The entrance door was light pink in color and was covered from the left and right corners with artificial grass. A money plant was hanging a fair distance from the ground at the right side edge of the entrance door. There was also a nice and well thought out arrangement of a few flower pots that were lined up neatly together in a horizontal position at each side of the entrance. Each pot contained a couple of flowers with colors different from the next. Kara rapped forcefully on the door, she was obviously more than eager to get inside and ask James the reason why he hadn't followed up with Ms. Grant in her absence and also share the information she had received regarding Winn. Much to her relief, she only had to wait for a few seconds before the door was swung open and she could see a rather exhausted looking Lucy Lane standing in the doorway. She wore a white colored flannel shirt and light black sweat pants, her trimmed and shiny jet black hair was uncombed and some beads of sweat could be vividly seen trickling down from her forehead.**

' **Hi, Kara'. She smiled, apparently looking relieved that someone had finally come to meet her. 'Lucy you look really tired. What's going on?' Kara said feeling more anxious than before after seeing Lucy in such a state.**

' **Please come inside'. Lucy replied curtly, gesturing her with a swift motion of her right hand. Now that Kara was away from the prying eyes of strangers she removed her glasses and put them on a side table in the living room. Without glasses, she looked more like Supergirl rather than Kara Danvers. Lucy led the way to her spacious, spotless and icy cool bedroom. James could be seen lying in a straight posture on the bed, his left arm covering his eyes and forehead as cool wisps of air swirled around the length and breadth of the room. Kara was alarmed to see that there was a large bandage on James' right shoulder. The bandage looked rather prominent especially since James was wearing a light weight basketball jersey that totally exposed his shoulders and abs to any on looker who would enter the room.**

 **Kara was about to speak out loud in shock when Lucy restrained her from doing so just in time. She put a finger to her lips and gently tip toed towards James, giving his left side shoulder a gentle shake so that he would wake up without reacting in shock.**

' **James, Kara has come to see you'. Lucy whispered in his ear as she continued to gently shake his left side shoulder in order to wake him up. James was up in a short while, blinking his eyes as the sharp rays of the sun streaming from the ceiling windows pierced through his wide open eyes. 'Kara'. He looked surprised and confused to see her standing up close to him unannounced. 'James what happened to you?'. Kara strode closer to the bed with a pained expression on her face.**

' **He was outside of Catco for some errand during work hours'. Lucy started to explain. 'And then I was jumped by two burly guys in the little lane beside the Catco plaza which is usually always empty'. James said joining into the conversation eagerly. Kara could see a sudden surge of pain engulf James' face when he exerted some pressure on the injured shoulder so that he could sit up straight to talk. 'Oh no. how could this happen? Why is everything going wrong? Everything…' Kara cried out in anguish, she really couldn't take such a load of anguish in a single day. First it was Winn who had shockingly disappeared without telling anyone where he was going or when he would be back and then there was the episode at the post office, her blow out with Cat and now poor James was lying in bed with a bruised shoulder. It clearly was a lot to take for her. James began to soothe her with comforting words as Lucy went to get some water for Kara to calm her nerves. 'Please have hope Kara. I'm sure that we will find a way to hear from Winn very soon'.**

' **I just hope that he's doing alright James. I couldn't live with myself if he was in trouble and I couldn't save him'. Kara said in a broken voice.**

' **Hey… hey… Kara… it's ok… it's ok'. I'm sure wherever he is he's looking out for himself. Our Winn is tenacious. He'll look out for himself'. James tried reassuring Kara, giving her a big wide smile to cheer her up as he spoke.**

 **3**

 **Winn felt extremely cold due to the intense air conditioning in the large bus. He was hoping there was a room so that he could change into some warmer clothing for the six hour journey to Opal city. He hadn't spent much time in packing for the trip to his mother's house due to the fear of losing his 6 o' clock bus. Winn wasn't looking forward to the trip ahead at all because his mom was never happy to see him, strange as it was. 'I just hope she hasn't gotten another of her boyfriends in the house'. Winn thought with worry as he recalled the many occasions where he had almost been beaten to a pulp before his mom Esther had stepped in to stop the torture. Ever since his father had been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for multiple murder attempts, Esther had never stopped drinking and swearing at everything and everyone who had the misfortune of meeting her. She also started calling over her drinking buddies to the house which made it harder and harder for Winn to survive at home and retain his sanity at the same time. No matter how worse it got Winn had made up his mind to keep going for Esther's sake as well as his own. He kept his patience during the short relationships that Esther kept with her numerous boyfriends and did his best to cure her from the severe depression of losing her husband to such a lengthy prison sentence.**

 **He was lucky to find a warm blanket lent to him by a kind soul sitting next to him on the bus. The blanket was wonderfully warm and Winn only opened his eyes when he could see the familiar scent of Cinnamon trees which were spread all across the vast terrain of Opal city. Upon reaching his mother's house Winn felt great disappointment in finding out that his mom was seeing a little league baseball player called 'Lafferty'. The first sight of him filled Winn with absolute disgust. Standing next to the fridge Lafferty was earnestly gulping away one of the many bottles of booze that Esther kept in the fridge for all her boyfriends. When Esther tried to forcefully take it away from him, he gave her a hard shove that made her head collide with the fridges' bottom door. Winn never felt as enraged as the way he felt after that incident. He leapt at Lafferty swinging his fists with all his might, wanting to put a heavy dent on his face. But Lafferty was quick enough to first dodge Winn's attack and then knock the wind out of him with a sharp blow into the stomach. The impact was excruciating and poor Winn stumbled on the floor instantly, gasping and shaking violently like a fish taken out of water. He clutched his stomach with both hands and he was crying out from the intense pain.**

' **Leave him alone Lafferty. Stay away from him'. Esther was shrieking at the top of her lungs as she came in between Lafferty and Winn and went towards Winn to try and comfort him.**

' **It serves him right'. Lafferty was extremely furious and was continually giving Esther and Winn a menacing glare as he opened the refrigerator once more and took out yet another bottle of booze, striking quite a pose as he did it. Winn had an intense smirk on his face as he pulled his hands away from Esther when she tried to reach him.**

' **Winn, where are you going'? Esther looked completely shocked and baffled by this unexpected turn of events. She ran after Winn as he tore towards the bedroom and began to throw things out of Esther's purse with great force.**

' **Winn. Stop it. Stop it right now'. Esther cried as she tried to snatch the purse away from her son'.**

' **Or what mom' Winn screamed at her as he moved away from her reach with seething rage. 'All that you care about is keeping this damn roof over your head and making out with your filthy boy friends'.**

' **What did you say?' Lafferty said as he entered the room and smashed his fist against the room wall in fury.**

' **I will say what the damn hell I want to say. You got that.' Winn snapped angrily, clearly losing all his restraint after being through such a tormenting ordeal.**

 **Esther wailed loudly and pushed Lafferty with all her strength to prevent him from attacking her son again. With a look of complete rage and disgust on his face Winn pulled out a large handful of dollar bills from the purse and began to walk out of the house in a rush.**

' **Winn… Winn…get back here… you little'… Esther tore towards him trying to yank him away from the exit door that led to the house terrace outside. The dollar bills flew into the air as Winn tried to pull himself away from his mother who was using all her strength to prevent him from walking away.**

 **Lafferty laughed loudly and clapped his hands together as Esther sent a barrage of blows on Winn's chest in her fury. 'You insolent, ungrateful….'**

' **Just…Stop!', 'Right now'. Winn was now at the highest point of his fury. Even a frat punk like Lafferty suddenly became grim and Esther had a puzzled and alarmed look on her face since she had never seen her son act as angry as this before. Winn had a crazy look in his eyes… the seething rage inside him could be clearly seen boiling inside them. Wrinkles had madness written all over his face due to the rage that he felt at the present time.**

 **Both Esther and Lafferty watched in stunned silence as Winn began to pick up bill after bill and stuff it inside a small zip pocket on the rear end of his backpack. Lafferty was silent for a while but the shock of seeing Winn in such a dangerous rage was now beginning to wear off and be slowly replaced by a hateful feeling as he saw all the money he had been planning to use get stuffed inside the back pack of this stupid kid who had suddenly popped into the house without any intimation.**

 **When Winn had nearly stored half of the bills Lafferty could no longer take the torture anymore. Like a wild mob in a demonstration he dashed towards Winn and pushed him roughly in the centre of his chest. The force of the blow was too strong for Winn to avoid falling hard on his back onto the floor.**

' **Clear out of this house right now'. Lafferty said in a loud and angry voice.**

' **This isn't your house man'. Winn retorted sarcastically making a comical face at Lafferty as he spoke the words. Lafferty totally lost his cool after that and sucker punched Winn straight in the face.**

' **Stop it laff…Oh… I can't deal with this'…. Esther wailed and cried piteously grabbing a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a lighted cigarette in the other.**

' **Mom… please… hear me out', Winn pleaded with his mother as a trickle of blood began to run down from his lips. 'Just leave… please just stay away… far away'…. Esther shook her head and put a hand on her face as she sighed with a face full of hurt and despair.**

' **But… but… mom… where am I going to go'? Winn said in a choked and angry voice.**

 **Esther said nothing as Lafferty scowled at him and slammed the door in his face after pushing him away from the entrance towards the house terrace outside.**

 **Winn stood shell shocked and dumbfounded for a few minutes, he glanced at the gravel that was spread across the entire length and breadth of the terrace. He looked at the sky, struggling to shield his eyes from the blazing sun. He had a sudden urge to tap forcefully at the entrance door, throw Lafferty across the street, call 911 emergency, have his mother admitted into a mental institution and take possession of the house all by himself. But common sense prevailed and he forced himself to remain stranded in his tracks. He stood motionless with a pained expression on his face looking up at the heavens, the blazing sun overhead piercing through his eyes as he looked. Then when the sharp sunlight became too much for his naked eyes to handle he blinked vividly and finally looked away, dismay and sheer despair engulfed his entire being like a heavy blanket of fog spread all across a vast and empty sea. He walked with slow and steady steps and a heavy heart out of a house where he had spent his entire childhood. As he stood outside on the street he pictured the entire structure one last time before he began a lonely journey like a lonely sailor making his way through a vast and treacherous expanse of unchartered waters.**

 **He kept walking until he reached the bus stand on the main road. The Winslow house was situated in the center of Opal City so nearly all the buses stopped there for passengers who intended to ply to different areas all over the city. Winn felt a sudden pang of shock and fear as he looked nervously at the small stack of cash he had managed to scramble from Esther and Lafferty at the Winslow residence. 'Barely enough to cover me for a month's food', Winn whispered under his breath as he sat waiting for the South City express which was due to arrive in a few minutes.**

' **Where to sonny'? Winn looked towards his right and found out that an old man sitting next to him had spoken the words. He had a moustache and a wrinkled old face. He wore a faded trench coat and was vigorously puffing away at his pipe when he stared back at Winn behind a pair of neatly polished spectacles.**

' **I'm headed south'. Winn replied curtly, not at all being in the mood for any small talk especially at such a low and vulnerable point in his life.**

 **The old man nodded and took a glance at his rather old fashioned wrist watch to see the amount of time left before the bus arrival. The old man and Winn were the only two people sitting at the bus stand at that time. Winn was trying really hard to avoid showing the overwhelming anxiety and panic that he was feeling at that time. More than half an hour had passed away since his arrival at the bus stand and after having looked more than five times at his rather modest looking cell phone he scratched his head in frustration and took out his wallet to once again count the handful of dollar bills he had snatched from his mother and her menacing boyfriend. As he was counting the bills he realized that it wasn't a good idea because it only intensified the anxiety even further.**

' **I've been on the road since I was an infant'. Winn glanced sharply at the old man who was staring at him with a twinkle in his light blue eyes. Winn felt pissed at the old man at first for distracting him like that but then being the kind and considerate person that he was he decided to gather himself and respond calmly. 'I see. That's rather disturbing'.**

 **The old man had a wry smile as he saw the clearly nervous look on Winn's face when the latter replied to him. Just then they heard a blaring horn in the distance followed by the enormous image of the South City express which had finally arrived at the bus stop.**

 **Winn and the old man boarded the large locomotive as soon as it came to a halt near the bus stop.**

' **Hardly enough young men left in this country to care for the elderly'. The old man's twinkling eyes seemed to laugh in unison with his mouth as Winn courteously allowed him to board first. After he climbed inside Winn found out that the bus was completely occupied apart from a couple of merged seats at the rear end. The old man had already occupied one of them and was signaling Winn to sit on the other one next to him. Winn wasn't happy about the unpleasant situation in which he found himself. He had been secretly hoping to stay away from the man and be able to forget about him as soon as he arrived at Roulette where he had planned to meet up with an uncle. To Winn's further dismay the man had just lit up a cigar and was about to go for his first puff of the trip downtown.**

' **Hey. I don't mean to be rude sir. But can you please not smoke in here right now?' Winn said in a voice which he couldn't stop from being inappropriately loud. The man took off his glasses and stared at Winn with a little smile while raising the side window with his right hand. After the window was fully open the man then proceeded to stretch his head out for a second before releasing a cloud of smoke into the atmosphere.**

' **How about that young man'? He asked rhetorically after sitting up straight on his seat once again.**

' **It still doesn't make it right'. Winn said in a much more assertive tone since he was now a lot more angry than polite especially after realizing that he was stuck with the old man for at least another half an hour before he exited from the stupid bus.**

 **The old man gave Winn a funny look before laughing out with all his heart and then much to Winn's surprise he drew out his hand for a shake instead of retorting.**

' **My name is Oswald Rickman'. The hand shake got Winn a bit off guard which much to his disappointment made him stammer a little as he responded to the introduction.**

' **I am pleased to meet you Winn'. Oswald said enthusiastically.**

' **Where exactly are you headed?' Oswald said It with a raised eyebrow which was especially prominent as it jutted out quite clearly from the top of his shades.**

' **Roulette'. Winn replied very shortly since he was quite clearly not in the mood for any kind of conversation given his precarious predicament. Oswald kept attempting to make conversation as the bus trudged along at a slow pace towards Roulette much to Winn's frustration and disappointment. Winn was making sure that he did not pay any serious attention to Oswald's comments and he was really being successful in achieving that objective until he suddenly looked jolted by a sharp vibration that buzzed from his cell phone.**

 **Winn looked alarmed after looking at the words 'Cousin Jeff calling' that he felt were literally bouncing out of the mobile screen into his eye sockets.**

 **He cancelled a couple of times but the caller at the other end was annoyingly persistent so in a desperate attempt to prevent Oswald from being dangerously curious; Winn reluctantly picked up the call when his phone vibrated for the third time.**

' **Oh… hi… Jeff… heh.. heh… how did you… ah... why did you call me all of a sudden'. Winn stammered uneasily.**

 **Jeff was Winn's only uncle who also lived in Opal City in the Roulette area. Just like his elder sister Jeff also had a rather mean and unpleasant personality. Being knee deep in financial issues he had resorted to excessive drinking and swearing since the past few months. He lived alone in a ramshackle apartment in the tiny and unpleasant vicinity of Roulette since the past few months after his wife had finally abandoned him after the constant and never ending abuse that he kept giving to her and their daughter Megan. She had successfully sued him for Megan's custody and possession of their property in Manhattan. After taking this heavy blow Jeff had begged and pleaded with Esther and Mr. Winslow to loan him some money so that he could buy his own property and make an honest effort to start over again. Being a twisted and sly man himself, Winslow had easily predicted Jeff's devious intentions. Winslow knew that Jeff was not the kind of person who would return anything back to anyone so he had been very forceful at first in refusing the loan but due Esther's blind trust in her brother he had to cave in and part with the money eventually. Jeff had made a vow to the Winslows that he would return the money as soon as his financial situation improved but as per his past behavior he refused to abide by this promise. Now Winn was headed towards Jeff's house to demand the same amount of money that he still owed to his family. He had planned to go there unannounced to put Jeff off his guard and perhaps persuade him to provide the money which he so badly needed to start fresh in Opal City.**

 **However, Lafferty who knew all about this situation (thanks to Esther's drunkenness and naivety) had forced Esther to call Jeff and ask him to refuse the money to Winn.**

' **I won't let that little pest snatch it away before I retrieve every single dime from your cunning weasel of a brother'. Lafferty had said threateningly to Esther before she called Jeff in a shaken state and told him exactly what Lafferty wanted her to say. Jeff was not the slightest bit amused to receive Esther's call but he listened intently to her message when he found out what was at stake. He decided to launch a preemptive strike and called Winn straight after saying foul stuff to Esther and hanging up on the previous conversation that he was having with her.**

 **Now in the present scenario Winn was struggling with this unpleasant call from his uncle. He was trying hard to be as curt as he possibly could while at the other end Jeff screamed and yelled at Winn to his heart's content taking full advantage of Winn's meek and uncomfortable response at the other end of the line. Winn's reluctance to snap back at Jeff and release the boiling rage inside him was simply due to his fear that he was being so closely scrutinized by Oswald who was sitting mere inches away from him. When the abuse became too much for Winn to handle he finally managed to stammer a panicky goodbye and hang up the call in a hurry. However, Winn had no idea that Oswald had managed to listen in on the entire conversation that he had just had with his uncle. It was the silence in the bus, the strong connection during the call and the bellowing voice of Winn's uncle that had allowed Oswald to unintentionally eavesdrop on the entire conversation that had lingered on quite painstakingly for at least ten minutes. Having managed to hear every word, Oswald now knew just about everything regarding Winn's current predicament.**

 **He felt a rush of sympathy and kindness towards the disturbed and anxious young man whom he had met barely two hours ago. Oswald was especially shocked to find out how Winn had had to abandon his rented apartment in National City and rush over here to beg his mother to give him a place to stay. It was so unfair that he had been kicked out like that from his parents' home. 'It's beyond tragical'. Oswald shuddered as he thought about the intense misery he would have been feeling if he had been in Winn's shoes right now. Oswald decided at that moment that he would make sure that he took Winn into his shelter. 'This poor kid does not deserve to get strangled out there in the city slums at night'. Oswald murmured under his breath with a rather grave expression upon his face. So when the bus conductor finally cried 'Roulette' Winn was startled to feel Oswald's firm grip on his shoulder.**

' **Hey, old man. What the hell is wrong with you?' Winn said in a hushed and puzzled tone.**

' **You're coming home with me son'. Oswald had a firm and extremely determined look in his eyes as he spoke the words. Winn felt enraged for a moment or two but Oswald did not allow him to resist any further than that. Pushing Winn back onto his seat Oswald filled him in on all the things he had overheard between him and his uncle.**

 **Oswald was well aware that Winn would still try to resist and attempt to march away on his own like a hot headed and egoistic young man so he stood firm on his demand that Winn should agree to stay with him at his residence until he was capable enough to find and have his own. Winn finally caved in after some intense persuasion from Oswald whose sentences were starting to become angry as the Coast View area of Opal City drew closer and closer. Winn had realized after a heated exchange with Oswald in undertone that this offer was a lot better for him especially considering how shockingly difficult it would be for him to survive on his own without work and just a handful of dollar bills to live on. Even though Winn was afraid to show It he really was feeling a sudden gush of gratitude towards Oswald for rescuing him from the miserable situation which he had just shortly been facing. Winn felt a wave of sadness wrapping itself all over him when he thought about how he would miss National City and how painful it would be for him to be separated from everyone he loved over there especially Kara. He pictured Kara's pouting face whenever he was feeling distressed and had to turn towards her for help. How Kara would hold his hand and give him a nice pep talk for hours at her apartment while he patted Chester on the head as the sweet kindly faced Labrador placed his little head on Winn's lap. However, this time Winn knew that he had to get by on his own. 'I must do this without you Kara. As much as I miss you and would give anything to be with you, I need to go my separate way now. I'm not worth the trouble you'll have to endure if you found out about me and my monumental problems'. Winn thought to himself remorsefully. Just then the bus conductor finally gave the call for 'Coast view' which was his and Oswald's cue to depart from the bus. 'Just out of curiosity Oswald; even if you managed to eavesdrop on the conversation don't you think you're acting a lot like Atticus right now?' Winn asked cynically just after both of them had dropped down onto the sidewalk along with the last of the passengers on board the South City express.**

' **Why are you so interested in Atticus all of a sudden, huh'? Oswald's eyes gleamed behind his glasses and a wide grin formed on his face.**

 **Winn said nothing and just shrugged 'because you're acting like Atticus'. He said making a dubious face before saying those words. 'You've been talking all nice to me since we met and now you're forcing me to stay with you with no strings attached… at least apparently'. Winn eyed Oswald suspiciously. 'It beats me how you could just drag me along with you like that?'**

 **Winn was feeling really grim at that point and Oswald could clearly read that from his eyes.**

 **Oswald encouraged Winn to continue with his rant by not saying anything to him in reply.**

' **What's your wife going to say when she finds out about me, huh? What about accommodation? I mean…heh…do you have any spare room or do I sleep in the dog house with Rex? And…and… what about expenses? Or food or….. Winn had to abruptly stop his verbal tirade when Oswald gave him a sudden and sharp thump on the back.**

' **Hey… what was that for?' Winn had an annoyed look on his face as he rubbed the shoulder which had just been jolted by Oswald's thumping blow. Oswald's face was beaming as he shook Winn's right shoulder after stopping his train of words. 'Leave all of that to me son'. He said a big wide chuckle emerging from his kindly looking face. After that he walked in front of Winn and faced him with a wide smile. 'And now all that we need to focus on is the Pizza flavor that we are going to enjoy while we merrily trudge home like a band of triumphant Soldiers'. 'What flavor do you like'? Oswald said, narrowing his eyes at Winn playfully.**

' **I've lost my taste in pie since meeting you'. Winn said with a rather apparent smirk on his face which made Oswald laugh heartily as the two of them continued their stroll towards Oswald's house.**

 **Coast View looked bright and enchanting at this time of night. Silvery lights lit up the path way that Winn and Oswald were travelling through at that time, a full moon glistened brightly up ahead beaming its silvery light onto the landscape below and the soothing noise of the sea waves could also be heard coming from the beach nearby. Collectively the whole scenario was making Winn feel rather mellow and bittersweet, making him remember all the days he had spent in National City with Kara, James and the other people who had loved him and treated him like family. After they had walked for some time inside the area, Oswald suddenly motioned Winn to follow him. Winn found himself walking towards the beach side of the area as he began to follow Oswald. A long line of cars could be seen neatly parked together before the entrance to the beach. A long line of powerful flood lights illuminated the beach, making the whole place look more enchanting than ever. Oswald was walking towards a line of hot dog stands spread across the centre of the beach with a significant number of people flocked towards them. A scrumptious aroma rose from the stands as the sausages were being thoroughly cooked and packed in front of their ravenous consumers.**

 **Winn was surprised to notice that Oswald had ignored the stands in front of him and walked towards one particularly attractive woman who was chatting away merrily with a few teenage girls while grilling sausages at the same time.**

 **Winn was wondering how Oswald had managed to stay so lean and fit considering he had the appetite to consume hot dogs and pizzas during night time hours.**

' **Beautiful night, Evelyn', said Oswald, looking brightly at the attractive woman, his smile becoming broader while he saw Winn making an angry face at him from behind.**

' **Hi, Oswald', Evelyn replied merrily.**

' **Surprising to see you here at this time of night, and whose this handsome looking young man next to you?. Winn's face started to become red as he heard the words of praise.**

 **Oswald couldn't help laughing loudly seeing Winn's comical expression.**

' **Oh, this is my nephew Winn from California'.**

 **They stayed with Evelyn for a while and listened to her talk about her daily activities while munching away at the scrumptious sausages that she had prepared for them. Winn was surprised to find out that he too was really enjoying Evelyn's company. Being a feminist he loved meeting up with strong women who successfully juggled their work and personal lives on a daily basis and judging by the she was talking it clearly seemed to Winn that Evelyn was one of them.**

 **However, despite all this Winn was still feeling anxious and heartbroken about being away from his life back in National City. It was like a deep hole in his heart, preventing him from being fully entertained by the serene and heartwarming occasion that he was experiencing with Evelyn and Oswald.**

 **Evelyn gave both of them a warm hug before waving and saying goodbye to them as the crowd began to get thin and the other hot dog stands on the beach began to close up for the night.**

' **You sure know how to waste time old man'. Oswald just had a blank expression on his face, his eyes having a piercing look in them as Winn spoke those words in his typical sarcastic manner.**

' **Well my friend, you better brace yourself. A lot more time wasting is yet to follow'. Oswald replied giving Winn a gentle tap on the back.**

 **They did not have to walk for long after heading away from the beach and so it wasn't long before Winn found himself staring down a quiet little street at a large brightly colored bungalow. Winn felt a sudden bittersweet sensation jolt inside his body as he saw the pink paint spread across the perimeter of the roof and the nicely designed balcony on the top story where neatly arranged flower pots stood in single file, their brightly colored leaves glistening in the yellowish light which was flickering down from the ceiling bulbs.**

 **Winn's mind was going back to the days which he had spent as a child at the Winslow residence. He remembered just how similar that house looked compared to the one that he was seeing just now.**

' **Now don't look all downcast and mellow right now my friend'. Oswald commented with a sympathetic grin on his face. 'You need to brighten up your spirits for the pepperoni that's waiting for us with my daughter Rachel and his fiancé'. Winn replied with a wry smile in return as Oswald wrapped his arm around Winn's shoulder and they reached right up to the entrance door of the warm welcoming house right in front of them.**

 **4**

 **Kara was using her heat vision to warm up the pizza from the fridge. It was a cold and murky night in National City and there had been sheets of rain and heavy winds earlier in the day. Normally Kara used the microwave for these menial tasks especially since she now no longer felt any thrill when she used her super powers to get things done but National City was without power due to the hailstorm and that forced her to use her powers to heat up the pizza. In the tray that she was now carrying, there was a box of donuts, a few pot stickers and along with them the warm slices of pizza that she had just heated up using her heat vision. Close to the dining table where she placed the tray were James, Lucy, John Jonzz, Mike and Alex; all huddled together on the comfy sofa which was quite close to a large sized heater in Kara's dining room. Winn's beloved Chester was kneeling on the floor, his eyes downcast and his furry dog face in a state of deep dark gloom which could be very much said about all the other living creatures present in Kara's house at that time. Lucy who had been silently tapping away at her cell phone as she sat next to James, got up and helped Kara set the table when she saw her coming towards them with the tray in her hands.**

 **James ruffled Mike's hair and patted Chester's back to soothe them up for dinner. Alex and John also joined the others, getting up in unison for the meal.**

 **It had nearly been two weeks since Winn had left National City, Kara and James had scanned every inch of the city for Winn, they had asked all his contacts for intel and had even gotten Kara's cousin Clark A.K.A Superman to hunt for him in Metropolis. But sadly, there was still no luck and all their sources had given them nothing. Alex's girl friend Maggie Sawyer who worked for the NCPD had used her contacts to scout for all the known addresses within the state with the name 'Winslow' and the precinct in Winn's neighborhood did in fact manage to send a group of officers to his residence. But Lafferty, a washed up little league baseball player turned drug dealer could sense 'precinct' from a mile away, and that's why when the officers rapped at the front door, all they could see was a frazzled looking lanky young man in a simple night gown with a nervous look on his face.**

 **Lafferty was feeling extremely proud of himself underneath the fake façade that he had just so successfully displayed to the solemn looking and emotionless officers standing outside the door. After just a few light questions they excused themselves and even apologized to Lafferty for bothering him like that.**

' **It was ah… completely alright officers. It is forever my civilian duty to assist the authorities whenever I can'. Lafferty scratched his beard and gave them a subtle wave as the big flashy police car pulled out of the drive way, its headlights flashing brightly and its sirens blaring loudly in the distance. Once the police car was completely out of sight, the pleasant look on Lafferty's face abruptly changed into a nasty looking smirk. With a loud roar he tore into the house in great fury and began to break the wine bottles in the fridge one by one on the floor. Seeing Lafferty in this state his close friend Dylan rushed to the scene to stop him. Esther also rushed behind Dylan loudly screaming swear words at Lafferty as she arrived. However, Lafferty proved to be too strong and hysterical to get taken down, with a forceful blow he sucker punched Dylan who fell down with his head slamming violently against the floor.**

' **You turned the police against me woman. Huh! You turned the 'DAMN' police against me'. Lafferty swung his hand against a flower vase which splattered onto the floor with a deafening crash.**

' **Love, please… please… easy…' , Esther put a hand in front of him with a panicked expression on her face, taking a few quick puffs of her cigarette as she backed away from him in alarm.**

' **Please!' she screamed before the lights went out as Lafferty crashed a heavy blow onto her face with his right fist.**

' **Huh'… Kara suddenly jerked herself up onto her bed, perspiration trickling down from her forehead. It was really hot in the room now since the storm had passed away long ago and the heat was back to normal. Kara also realized that she hadn't opened her ceiling fan since she had gone to sleep before the power got restored.**

 **Feeling restless she decided to go up to the roof and get some air. 'It really must be unbearably hot tonight, for me to be getting such a sweat'. Kara thought as she opened her front door to fly. She felt better at the top because a strong wind was blowing which was giving a cool and comforting effect to her surroundings. She walked around the perimeter carrying a small bottle of coke in her hand that she continued to sip from time to time. Kara felt rather down in her spirits since so much time had gone by since Winn's absence. 'Ah... Winn if only you had reached out to me. Why did you have to go through this alone.' She sighed as she gently used her freeze breath to chill up her remaining drink. She had a melancholy feeling as she gazed around the humungous city that was spread before her at that light night our. Glancing at her cellphone, she found out that it was nearly 3 in the morning. It felt very eerie and lonesome to her to see thousands upon thousands of**

 **flickering lights in the vast dark emptiness of the night. She closed her eyes and concentrated on all the sounds that could be heard in that eerie stillness, the bark of a small house dog in some distant home in another neighborhood, shared laughter between a young couple deeply in love, the cry of a peacock, some late night shoppers and joy riders doing their best to party away their everyday sorrows. 'Come on Winn'. She said in a fit of rage and then let go with a deep sigh and a wide smirk on her face.**

 **'You don't have to let it deject you Kara'. called out an all too familiar voice up from where she was standing. 'Kal'. she beamed as she saw her handosome younger cousin drown down beside her. Neither of them were in their superhero suits so they both felt somewhat weird standing side by side in their night overalls at such a late hour.**

 **'It's weird seeing you come all the way out here from Metropoiis, Kal'.**

 **Clark had a wry smile on his face as he walked closer to Kara.**

 **'Well, I got a note from Jimmy a few days ago. said it was urgent'.**

 **Kara nodded solemnly looking down at her feet.**

 **'Winn's been missing Kal'.**

 **'What! when'.**

 **Kara filled him in on all the details. How Winn had left all of a sudden without saying goodbye. How they had searched for him all over National City but to no avail. Clark took in all the details with a grave look on his face. He felt upset knowing that Kara and his others friends had been through so much in his absence.**

 **'I know how hard this must be for you Kara. Makes me sad knowing that I wasn't there to support you'.**

 **Kara put her hand on Clark's shoulder telling him it wasn't his fault. And that she wanted to do it on her own without luring him into the search.**

 **'Kal I realize how close Winn is to you and how much you wanted to help him. I'm sorry I should've told you a lot sooner'.**

 **Clark was still optimistic that they could locate him. 'I'll get the daily planet to work on it. Lois will be so keen on this task'. Clark chuckled curtly.**

 **'Why would Lois want to help so much? Not that I'm complaining'. Kara stretched her arms with cynicism as she spoke.**

 **'Lois is short of assignments. This will help her through the stalemate'. Clark laughed heartiiy. Kara only responded with a wry smile and then started to focus again for Winn's voice using her superhearing ability.**

 **'Let's do it together. One of us may just get a lucky hit'. Clark said waving his arms to sound convincing.**

 **Kara only frowned at him in reply as she continually paced around the massive roof of the building taking a quick swig from her coke time and again as she walked.**

 **'I'm surprised that John hasn't been able to locate him yet'.**

 **'His powers are severely deplted Kal. He got a bad burn out after sending M'gan back to Mars using his psyche ability'.**

 **'That's too bad. How's he feeling?'.**

 **'Well he's doing better at least. Just not enough for us to pin a location on Winn'.**

 **Clark's focus got interrupted as Kara gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.**

 **'Aww Kara. Hey I said I was trying'. Clark frowned at her with a sideways glance.**

 **However, he quickly began to brighten up after hearing what Kara had to tell him.**

 **He lauded the idea that they link their superhearing through a psychic connection to find Winn.**

 **'I'll call John to meet us right now and teach us how to do it'. Kara said with renewed hope. John seemed rather dismal when he arrived, both Kara and Clark knew how he must be feeling. As director of the DEO he always felt that it was his duty to ensure that his staff were protected and rescued from danger as rapidly as possible. And now he had to live with the guilt of being unable to locate Winn and rescue him using his pyschic abilities.**

 **Kara smiled at him reassuringly, as he started linking her and clark's super hearing abilities.**

 **'We'll find him John. You can count on it'. Clark said patting his arm.**

 **John smiled at them curtly. 'Good luck both of you'.**

 **He flew back to the DEO once again, as both Supergirl and Superman started their quest with renewed vigor. Despite his past differences with Clark, John felt a sense of faith and trust towards him and a more hopeful feeling that it won't be long before Winn would finally be found.**

 **It felt weird for Kara to be able to feel Clark's spirit and his hearing in her mind. It was like she hearing had doubled due to the connection. She realized that Clark was having the same feelings as her. As Kara had predicted their combined energy was now allowing them to access the sounds that came from much longer and far flung distances. The human voices they heard felt like a tidal wave of screeching bats engulfing their entire existence from all sides. It gave Kara a wave of great joy to know that she could now hear people from as far as Opal and Starling City due to the extra power from the connection. The new barrage of voices came to her from 'Laker Baseball stadium', the 'Megaplex 3D Cinema' and 'Mayfair Carnival' all of whom were located in Opal City. She took a quick look at Clark and found a wry satisfied looking smile on his face. It appeared that he too was enjoying the extra hearing from their connection. They stayed connected for quite a while, each doing their best to catch as many voices as possible. It was easier said than done and as they dug deeper it became more and more difficult for them to make out the words being said. Both of them knew from experience how to extract the voices they wanted to hear from all magnified and muffled human voices that rammed into their ears. But in this case it was proving to be extra difficult due to the sheer volume of the noise coming from multiple cities. Kara was beginning to feel frustrated and she felt like asking Clark to give up trying as well when suddenly it felt like she heard a rather feeble sound that seemed like Winn.**

 **'Kal. wait. don't stop.' Clark, glanced at her with a puzzled expression on his face.**

 **'I don't hear anything Kara'. He was surprised to see a bright expression on her face.**

 **'Kal. I heard Winn'.**

 **'You sure... you did'. Clark replied enthusiastically.**

 **'Yes. keep concentrating. Come on'. She said really keen on urging him to continue.**

 **Clark began listening with renewed strength, he felt much more hopeful after Kara's intimation about hearing Winn. At first he was once again listening to the same old muffled voices but then he too heard the same noise. It was indeed Winn's voice, a very faint feeble sound like a scrambled radio transmission.**

 **'Did you hear it, Kal?**

 **Clark nodded in reply. 'You were right it's too feeble. It's too far'. He shook his head in anguish.**

 **'Let's remain focused on it. Listen harder'.**

 **Despite their persistence, it still took them a while before they finally managed to make sense of the words that Winn was speaking.**

 **They both listened intently once the voice struck their super ear drums in adequate volume.**

 **It appeared as if Winn was strolling outdoors since they heard a lot of rustling noises that come from tree leaves and the occasional eerie hoot of an Owl perched on a tree branch waiting for its next unfortunate victim.**

 **Winn seemed anxious and disturbed, he seemed to be trying to convince someone on the phone to make them agree to something.**

 **'Yea. I know but...**

 **'Yes. Yes. I have worked in IT'.**

 **'No. but. I can adjust in Coast City'.**

 **Upon hearing the words 'Coast City' they both exchanged meaningful stares. Now it would be a lot easier to track him down.**

 **They kept listening in for a little while longer and heard Winn continue with his desperate rant to land a new job.**

 **Kara tried her best to urge Clark to continue hearing, but the sheer effort was now finally beginning to take its toll on the both of them.**

 **Kara saw that Clark looked in discomfort as he pulled himself away from the connection and She realized that She too was feeling rather exhausted from all the effort.**

 **'Ah... how are you feeling Kara'. Clark said looking at her with perspiration dripping down from his hair and face.**

 **'Knocked out like you, Kal'. She replied slowly, letting out a little chuckle and giving him a playful punch on the shoulder as She spoke.**

 **Clark joined her in the laughter.**

 **'Well. thank goodness for John's help. We finally found out about him'. Clark put his arm around Kara as they both gave their worn out legs a much needed stretch by going back to Kara's apartment through a long flight of stairs.**

 **The building seemed a lot less hot and humid now that the power had finally been restored.**

 **Clark was so relieved to feel the soothing ice cool waves of Kara's split air conditioner that he actually flew up towards it and stuck his head into the outlet much to Kara's amusement.**

 **They both sat facing each other on the dining table casually sipping away at the chocolate milk shakes from 'Noonans' that Kara had just taken out from her fridge.**

 **'Nothing like a good dose of milk shake and cool air waves to rejuvenate the spirit'.**

 **Clark remarked taking a long sip from his straw after he spoke.**

 **He felt very glad to see Kara's relieved and smiling face looking back at him.**

 **It clearly looked as if the good news, her present comfy surroundings and the fact that Clark was sitting with her had left her in a relaxed and cheerful mode.**

 **'I can't believe we finally found him Clark'. Kara raised and stretched her arms with a beaming and relaxed look.**

 **'When I got your message I was harrowed just like you were Kara. And now it just feels so good to me when I realize that we can finally restore such a good and kind hearted soul back to where he belongs'.**

 **Kara nodded at him with a deeply emotional look on her face.**

 **'You know what, let's both go to Coast CIty tomorrow. And bring Winn back safe and sound'.**

 **Clark smiled placing his hand on hers for comfort.**

 **'No. No. Kal. You've done more than enough. And besides you need to go back to Lois'.**

 **Clark still had an uncertain and worried look on his face.**

 **'I'll be fine, really'. Kara smiled, patting Clark's face as she spoke.**

 **'Go. Be with Lois'.**

 **Clark looked at her with his nicest expression and then vanished into the skies in less than a second. Kara had a bittersweet expression on her face after seeing him leave. Those few moments she had spent being with Clark had temporarily taken away her loneliness but now she was once again feeling that big wide hole in her heart. But despite all the pain, she had an eagerness to find her best friend.**

 **'Hang in there Winn. wherever you are. I will find you I promise'.**

 **Winn had spent a few days recuperating in his new surroundings. It had been a rough few days for him due to the trauma of leaving his home town and then having being driven away by his mom to the streets. This seemed like a chance for him to**


	2. Chapter 2

_**WINSLOW SCHOTT JR**_

 **By Musab Tanveer**

 **1**

 **National City, 10:30 PM it was raining cats and dogs, and Winn couldn't stand waiting in line to get his duffel bag of Pot Stickers. It was a long line of people and time was certainly not on Winn's side. He was nervous about waking up early since tomorrow he had to arrange a video conference for Ms. Grant the head of Catco World Wide Media where he worked.**

 **He could see the people in front of him getting impatient, 'Who the hell is serving up there', yelled someone right at the front. 'Why the hell is this hold up going on'. This was now erupting into a proper brawl right before the stroke of midnight and Winn was anxiously looking at his modest looking cell phone to see the dreaded minutes ticking away in slow painful motion just when a rough nudge from the back broke me away from my reverie. 'Are you insane buddy'. Winn glanced around in shock and to his utter dismay someone else had sneaked in front of him and gotten ahead in the line. The person shouting at him was a rather stern looking and impatient individual who was getting mad by the minute since Winn's present screw up.**

' **Hey, what's the idea? You need to get at the back of the line'. Winn said to the violating person trying to sound as assertive as he could above the surface of pure dread and sadness that he was feeling at that point in time.**

' **Yea. I got in front, what are you going to do about it'? said the guy in front of him with a glare on his face. Winn didn't know how to react, people were staring at him and he felt humiliation in its truest sense. He had to wrap the duffel bag in his coat as he slowly trudged along to the bus stand; the apartment building where he lived was a few blocks away usually he would walk the distance with Chester his small Labrador but in a hailstorm such as this he really couldn't risk it. So with one hand carrying the coat and the other holding a small sheet over his head he splashed his sneakers on the pavement and edged closer to the stand. The storm was terrifying in the hour before midnight. Thunderclaps with the noise of magnified church bells slammed Winn's ears with crushing force, and heavy sheets of rain belted his body like a tear away Jet plane. With a great deal of effort he finally reached the stand and peered ahead to see the timings written on the notice board. 'Grey Hound last arrival – 11:00 PM'!**

 **15 minutes past eleven he could finally make out distant yellow lights and the sound of a diesel engine getting louder with each passing second. To Winn's dismay the bus driver didn't seem interested in stopping for passengers and Winn almost had to walk onto the middle of the road and wave his arms to stop the giant vehicle in its tracks. The bus conductor attempted to spat at him after coming out but Winn was too livid to become subdued by his arrogant attitude.**

 **Winn was really relieved when he could see Starling Avenue up ahead in the distance, the ride had been bumpy and sluggish and it appeared as if the driver and his conductor were just going through the motions and cooling off before reaching their sweet homes. Winn noticed that there were only three people besides him on the bus all looking like zombies who couldn't wait to get off that freaky road machine. He had to jump off the bus since the driver didn't even let him breathe as his stop finally arrived. His sneakers splashed into a heavy water puddle on the road as he stepped down. With the merciless sheets of rain pelting his whole body he also had to endure the painful jolt of dirty water splashing onto him from the bottom to the top of his polo shirt. He sighed and let out a heavy grunt as he began to cross the road towards the entrance of Starling Avenue. He was really hoping that Chester had been fed properly by Ms. Vandervaal his neighbor who lived on the same floor as him. His feet made wet smudgy footprints on the 14** **th** **floor terrace as at last he finally made his way towards the apartment entrance. The view outside was really scary, the wind howled with fearful force and the sound of thunderclaps made Winn's heart sink deep in fear.**

' **Finally, he arrives'. Ms. Vandervaal was really looking pissed as he stood next to her entrance door, eagerly hoping to see a smiling expression on Chester's face as he took possession of him again. 'Ms. Vandervaal, erm…thanks….for taking care of Chester while I was away'. As usual, Winn's grumpy and obnoxious neighbor simply scowled and rudely handed over his good pal Chester. Winn felt relieved knowing that at least Vandervaal had fed him well while he was away. Winn could deduce that by the way Chester merrily trotted towards him with his tongue lovingly coming out of his mouth. Once Winn had taken a full heart fulfilling shower with soothing hot water, he raided the refrigerator and brought out two double chocolate Cornetto cones. 'All thanks to Kara', Winn whispered adoringly as he began to lick the top layer of the cone and watched Chester gobble up the whole thing in one big mouthful. It was nearly half past midnight when he finally curled into his bed with the small frame of Chester lying across the room close to his bed.**

' **You know boy, Ms. Grant has a huge conference session tomorrow with Hilary. 'Yea, tough call right'. Winn muttered as he marveled at the way the kind faced Labrador took in every word he said with raised ears and an intense eye contact with his face.**

' **Chester boy'. Winn said with a smile. 'No matter how tough it gets out there you are the one who helps me keep it together'. 'Um…but Uh no… not just you….You and this lovely lady…right here'. Winn could almost believe that Chester had a wide grin on his face as he saw Kara's angelic picture which he had just showed him.**

 **A sudden movement on Winn's bed jolted him out of deep sleep, he thrashed his hands left and right and sat bolt upright on the bed trying to peer open his heavy eyelids. Woof! Woof! It was Chester again. 'Aw', Winn groaned. 'Down boy, down'! the fat little playful thing had hurled himself on Winn and was trying with all his strength to have a go at Winn's face with his tongue. 'Ugh…alright, alright'! Winn trudged slowly towards the refrigerator and took out a bowl of dog food to heat for his hungry companion. 'In one hour I have to haul my broken body into Catco and setup a video conference for the scariest boss in the media industry, and yet you have no sympathy for me', Winn said pretending to be offended as he glared playfully at his cuddly old friend. 'Woof'! Chester replied, and tore towards his food bowl, tail wagging nineteen to the dozen as he began to devour the meat with great force. Winn could only shrug his shoulders as he peered at his mobile and counted the few minutes he had before he would have no choice but to dash into the shower and get ready for work. As he lay In bed, he conjured stray thoughts which all involved Kara Danvers. He had great adoration for her ever since she had joined Catco and she was the only one who always steadied him when he got jittery and afraid while at work. 'Ever since I found out about her powers, I have never had so much respect for anybody else', Winn spoke out loud looking at Chester and imagined that he had taken in every word that Winn had just said. As the time to get up for work got closer, Winn began to feel more and more nervous. He really couldn't understand why he would feel this way because he had been in this job for more than five years now, he had gone through the rough times when he was just a shy and rookie employee in the large Catco IT department but before the start of the work day he always used to get a nervous sensation in his body. It was like a reflex emotion to him because it always used to infest his heart no matter how much he tried to avoid it.**

 **Winn was slow in getting ready because he felt hesitant about being the center of attention in Ms. Grant's humongous office room where everyone would have their focus on the way he set up her live video conference. There was a sudden knock on Winn's door which startled him and made Chester bark in a friendly way. The little thing hung out his tongue and his tail began to wag vigorously soon after the bell had been rung. 'Whose there boy'? Winn said rhetorically, as he walked towards the entrance door. 'Kara'! Winn said rather taken aback as soon as he saw her standing in the doorway.**

 **She had a box of donuts in hand along with two large chocolate milkshakes. She was wearing casual dress pants and a full sleeve light blue colored shirt for the office day and her spectacles gleamed from the light sunshine that pierced through the curtains of Winn's apartment. 'Winn, you look dazed, what's going on'? Kara asked with her infectious laugh that almost always made Winn laugh along as well except for now when he was looking all forlorn and jittery.**

' **Kara…heh…it's nothing…really…I mean…em…well, seeing you so early…heh heh…it is kind of surprising…em…especially…ah…with the storm last night and…em… you don't usually step into my apartment like this early…' Winn stammered nervously doing the awkward scratching on the right side of his neck with the right hand as he failed to pretend with her that he was keeping it together. 'Winn'… she put a finger to her lips and then placed both her hands as gently as She could on his shoulders even though being Supergirl her grip still felt strong despite her extreme care not to hurt him.**

' **Kara, I know I'm overreacting. I just feel strange I mean I have you know…worked at Catco for five years and'**

' **Winn, just hear me out'… Kara said with a forceful look in her eyes, she took his arm and led him to the tiny furniture he had managed to gather in his suffocating dingy looking apartment.**

' **You've been doing amazingly well at Catco. Do you remember a few months ago when the company's main servers were infected by a nasty computer virus. No one had a clue how to solve that problem apart from you.' She said soothingly, holding one of my hands in both of hers. Winn didn't look her in the eye, he just stared into empty space but his heart felt relieved and the sick feeling in his stomach began to slowly fade away as he saw her smile at him with that kind face so many people all over the world admired as the one belonging to Supergirl.**

' **This is a cake walk Winn, just take a deep breath and walk with me into the place'. She said looking deep into Winn's eyes as she spoke the words.**

 **After hearing that Winn really couldn't smother the smile that was slowly starting to emerge in the corners of his mouth and then to his utter astonishment he found myself laughing along with Kara. It was like the synchronization you get to experience in a musical choir. Him laughing together with her was the most infectious voice that he could possibly ever listen to and it really surprised him because just a while ago he had been feeling sick to his stomach about the activity he was about to perform at Catco.**

 **The ride to the company building passed by in a whirl and Winn soon found himself sitting at his desk and gearing up for the live conference. Ms. Grant didn't wait around and before he knew it he was summoned into her office to get the live feed ready. During times like this he just wished that he would only do the regular stuff mentioned in his job description like setting up firewalls and handling antivirus updates because it was extremely terrifying to go up to the room of the CEO and set up a live feed with so many people having their eyes on him like that.**

 **Ms. Grant's office space was nearly more than half the size of the rest of the top floor of Catco plaza and everyone's desks were all sandwiched together within that place; so when Winn got up from his desk and walked towards Ms. Grant's office he began to feel rather self conscious about the fact that people were staring at him. He glanced around the square and struggled to find Kara's desk due to the panic he felt. He felt surprised that he couldn't see her anywhere when suddenly he almost bumped into her as she came towards him. 'Ah, Winn you forgot your tools'. She placed the network equipment in his hands and gave them a squeeze to comfort him.**

' **You're going to be fine buddy. Just go out there and be yourself'. She said in her usual soothing voice.**

' **I'm waiting'! Ms. Grant said in a sharp voice from across her room. 'Okay. I'm here Ms. Grant'. Winn said to her in a hurried voice and saw Kara give him a wide smile as she saw the sudden confidence and positivity appear on his face.**

' **You're about fifteen minutes late IT guy. Do you realize who I am supposed to speak to just Now.' Ms. Grant said looking at her watch with contempt and a smirk on her face. Now that Winn was in her room he didn't feel the terror he had been feeling a while ago and Kara's kind words and encouragement had given him the kind of boost to really give everything he had to the task at hand. 'I'm almost done, Ms. Grant', Winn said trying to sound as confident as he could when he spoke the words.**

' **Well for your job's sake I hope you are, in most circumstances I do not tolerate such mishaps'. Ms. Grant retorted in a vicious tone.**

' **There it's done, and we are good to go'. Winn felt a strong rush of ease and comfort in his heart as he spoke those words and saw the live feed begin on the giant Tv screens straight in front of Ms. Grant's sprawling office furniture. 'Good', she said as she gathered herself in her large black leather chair and prepared herself for the broadcast. 'Get Kara to bring me the special decaf from Noonan's with lunch'. She said and dismissed him with a wave of her hand as he gathered his tools to leave.**

 **The rest of the day went by uneventfully; Winn talked to Kara and James when he took his usual breaks during the work day. James was mostly talking about Clark and the way that he juggled his day job with the superhero acts that he performed as Superman. Winn hadn't met Clark personally but he always felt that Kara was the best superhero in the world. James tried to act like a male chauvinist whenever he discussed about Kara as Supergirl but both Winn and Kara knew deep down that he well and truly admired her and also carried deep feelings for her.**

 **At the end of each day, Winn was always the one who tried to leave work the soonest and that was because he didn't want anyone to see that unlike nearly everyone working in the company he could not afford a car of his own and had to take the bus back home each day so that he could save enough money before he got his next pay check. He kept this fact hidden even from Kara with whom he felt he could share almost anything in the whole world. Today was again no different as he yet again went through the same old drill. Luckily there was really nothing he was doing at work when the clock struck 5:15 PM which was his queue to get away from the place as quickly as possible. Winn didn't have to wait for his escape since no one was close to his work station at the time which was why he soon found myself at the exit gate of Catco plaza.**

 **Winn dashed to the bus stop and sat on the bench hoping no one coming out of Catco would see him there. It did feel strange to Winn; getting out of the office waiting for the next Grey Hound to take him to Starling Avenue because his usual routine had always been to walk through back alleys until he reached the main highway from where the buses used to ply on their everyday routes. As Winn sat waiting, he thought about how ridiculous it would seem if He told anybody why he did this on a routine basis. Why would anyone be stupid enough to walk such a long way when the subway was only a small distance from the CatCo building? In fact most employees in CatCo did not even have to use the subway because they all used to commute between work and home through their cars. The grey hound did thankfully arrive exactly at its appointed time. There were only a handful of people that got on board including Winn as the large locomotive screeched to a halt next to the bus stand. Winn went into a deep reverie as the bus finally began to lumber across the road, its engine giving out a deep rumbling sound as the driver began to harden his grip on the accelerator.**

 **He remembered the one time that Kara had caught him leaving work on foot. He was leaving early as usual that day and accidentally had to stop for a few minutes outside the exit door to attend a call from his landlord when Kara arrived on the scene and surprised him.**

' **Winn, what's going on'? why hasn't your brother arrived yet?**

' **Err…well, he's…he's a little late today Kara. Ha ha, you know office issues'.**

' **Well tell him to go home himself then because I'm taking you home today'.**

 **Winn couldn't excuse himself after that because once Kara made up her mind about something it was almost impossible to refuse her.**

 **She had a flashy looking black sedan which she always used to park on the ground floor each day she came to work. Winn had only been in her car a few times before because he had this negative feeling that other people in the company would perceive him as a wuss if they found out that Kara was always picking and dropping him home.**

 **Winn remembered how that day he had been unable to avoid blurting out the whole truth to Kara regarding the sneaky exit he made from Catco. There was really something amazing about Kara which shattered his defenses like a rock splintering a glass window. He believed it was the charisma in her personality that always made him confess the truth to her every time. He felt overwhelmed when he felt such an intense level of empathy and kindness from a woman who could literally bend steel with her bare hands and squat even the most Strongest human being on earth like a fly.**

 **Kara had listened intently to Winn's whole rant and had only nodded and said just a few words in between as she drove him in her car to his apartment. It was only when he had finished talking that she finally spoke to him .**

' **Winn, I'm really glad you confided in me with this'. She calmly said and patted his hand with hers. 'You could have told me sooner you know I would never expose you to anybody'.**

 **Later when they arrived at the entrance of Starling Avenue, Kara offered to give Winn a ride back home each day after work despite the fact that she lived quite a fair distance away.**

 **Winn had tried to refuse her but Kara wouldn't have no for an answer and since that day she had made it a point to always take him home in her car. She had even asked James to stop the other office staff from picking on him for not having his own transportation. However, despite all that Winn still used to try and not let Kara deal with the extra effort of dropping him home due to the large distance in between.**

' **Edgemont passengers exit the bus'. Winn was awakened from his reverie by the loud screaming of the bus conductor. The conductor seemed irritated when Winn did not buck up like the rest of the passengers after the announcement.**

' **Final Call', He was now giving Winn a stern look as he spoke those threatening words. Winn scampered from the bus in panic nearly falling onto the road with his back pack as the bus conductor gave him a final disdainful look and went inside before the automatic doors of the bus were finally closed. 'Whew, that was a close one'. Winn quietly spoke to myself as he walked back to collect Chester from Ms. Vanderwaal. After he had rapped on the door twice, Ms. Vanderwaal's son opened the door. 'Hey, Mike'. Winn said as a short petite looking boy with wavy golden hair looked at him with a slight grin on his face.**

' **Hey Winn, he replied giving him a high five as he spoke. Unlike his mother, Mike was a really sweet kid. He looked after Chester as much as he could in Winn's absence and this was the main reason why he was always so comfortable giving away Chester to the Vanderwaal household. Mike had been a real help to Winn ever since he had fixed him his play station a few years ago.**

 **Mike had gotten it on his 14** **th** **birthday and to his real bad luck, some devious kids from his class broke the gadget while they fooled around playing video games in his house. Winn was walking down from his apartment onto the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon when he had heard the loud muffled sobs coming from his apartment coupled with a harsh tirade of abuses that were coming from Ms. Vanderwaal's mouth. He had always kept a mild mannered approach with Ms. Vanderwaal but this time he gave her a piece of his mind and told her to stop blaming the poor kid.**

' **Okay. That's enough Ms. Vanderwaal. Accidents happen! Please don't go after the kid like that'. Winn had said. Ms. Vanderwaal would normally have retorted with some harsh remark to anyone's outburst but this time she surprisingly felt ashamed about what she had just done. However, it was just too much for her to speak a gentle word and soothe her son's feelings so she gave both Mike and Winn a cold hard stare before finally walking away into her room and closing the door behind her. Later when Mike had calmed himself down Winn had asked Mike to show him the playstation that was damaged. Winn promised the little boy that he would get the thing fixed as fast as he could and kept his word after saying so.**

 **It was because of this episode that Mike had become so sweet and helpful towards Winn.**

 **Coming back to the present moment Mike rubbed Chester's neck with a loving hand before handing him over to Winn.**

' **Winn do feed him quickly, I gave him as much as I could but you know how difficult my mother can be'. Winn eyed and grinned at him before he turned his head towards his apartment with Chester trotting merrily at his heels.**

' **Oh, and Winn'. He spun around again to see Mike running towards him waving an envelope with his hand.**

' **The courier asked to give you this when you returned'.**

 **Winn began to scratch the envelope as soon as he received it feeling rather surprised because no one had sent him snail mail in a rather long time. Standing in the doorway of the Vanderwaal's house, he felt a sudden pang of shock as he read the letter's headline written in large bold letters:**

 **NOTICE OF REVOCATION FOR MR. WINSLOW SCHOTT JR**

 **For a few seconds Winn just stood and stared in shock at the big fat headline that was now piercing his soul with a dozen spades.**

' **Winn, sit here'. Mike eyed him with a concerned look on his face as Winn stood motionless and in a state of deep shock. Winn sank onto the big and wide white colored sofa of Ms. Vandervaal's overly decorated living room with his eyes rolling continuously in his face in shock and bewilderment. Chester realized the tension in the air and slowly trotted up to Winn and placed his furry little head on his master's lap.**

' **Here's some water'. Mike had gone to the fridge in the meantime to get some fluid to help Winn to relax. 'Thank you, buddy'. Winn replied softly with a long sigh before placing the letter onto the table and scratching his head in irritation. Mike kept sitting close to his friend without saying a word; he felt upset seeing Winn act like this and what made him feel worse was the fact that he couldn't really say or do anything to make him feel better. After spending some time on the couch with a great deal of anxiety all over his face, Winn finally got up to leave the Vandervaal residence. He turned around to face Mike just as he was about to step outside the house. 'Mike'. He said with a rather depressed and concerned tone in his voice. 'What is it Winn? What's going on buddy? Why are you suddenly feeling like the sky fell over you man? Mike said eyeing his friend sharply and with genuine concern in his voice.**

 **Winn didn't reply before revealing a saddened look on his face.**

' **Mike, I'm afraid I have to leave the city'.**

' **What! Why?**

' **It's kind of hard to say. You know. Ah… personal issues'. Mike noticed that Winn was nervously scratching his head as he spoke the words.**

' **Please tell Kara that I went out of the city for a job interview. I don't want her to worry about me'.**

' **Winn at least fill me in on what's been going on. You're really starting to scare me man', said a rather frazzled looking Mike who was now really starting to feel afraid of the prevailing situation.**

' **Trust me dude. I'll be back as soon as I can'. Winn replied as he gently squeezed Mike's shoulder and ruffled his wavy golden hair.**

' **Please stay strong and take care of this little fella for me'. Winn gently shook Chester's fluffy brown hair as he spoke.**

' **Do call me as soon as you can buddy'. Winn nodded in reply.**

 **2**

 **Kara was gently rinsing her teeth to make sure that she didn't break her toothbrush due to her incredible strength. As she moved the tiny stick to and fro she began to remember the way her mother Alura had taught her to brush teeth back on Krypton. Being so young she wasn't even tall enough to see herself properly above the wash basin but even though it did bother her that she couldn't see herself, the toothbrush exercise was still done perfectly. She remembered how Alura used to smile at her as the tiny robot 'Acerex' used his mechanical arm to rinse Kara's tiny little teeth with the shiny little smoothly shaped toothbrush.**

 **Kara was still deep in thought even after she had finished brushing her teeth and it wasn't until her elder sister Alex shook both her shoulders that she finally came out of her trance.**

' **Kara were you lost somewhere'. Alex remarked as she looked deep into her sister's eyes with a confused look on her face.**

' **I don't know I guess my memory was triggered as I was brushing my teeth', Kara said shaking her head and laughing as she looked back at her sister.**

' **Well get your head out of the clouds Miss goof ball, you just got a call from work while you were day dreaming in here'. Alex said giving Kara a friendly glare as she spoke the words.**

 **Kara immediately became shocked as Alex told her that it was Cat Grant herself who had called her just a while ago. She dashed out of the washroom and grabbed her mobile from her dresser to call back Ms. Grant. Before she made the call she was even more alarmed to find out that Cat Grant had already called her twice within the space of ten minutes.**

' **Y…Yes Ms. Grant'.**

' **Keerah, it's almost time to reach the office and you just happened to ignore my calls twice before that hot head sister of yours snapped at me in an annoyingly harsh tone, saying that I should lower my tone with her'.**

' **Well…y..yes Ms. Grant I was not in my room so my sister picked up for me, her room is at a fair distance from my own so it takes her some time to reach mine I guess'. Kara laughed nervously in between her sentences while she was speaking.**

' **Okay. Well even though your explanation is wayward like usual, I am faced with a more pressing issue at the present time'. Cat retorted in a mildly sharp tone.**

 **After a brief pause on the line she continued, 'I haven't seen Wit arrive at work yet Keerah, where is my IT guy when I need to set up a high profile interview with Donald Trump'.**

' **Ah…well Ms. Grant no worries at all, I'm sure he's already rushing to work as we speak'.**

' **Well, he better hurry before I snap my fingers and give HR the instruction to find me a new tech guy'.**

' **I am right on it Ms. Grant'.**

' **Um…well… hurry up'.**

 **Kara felt a bit shocked after her conversation ended with Ms. Grant and stood in silence close to her bed side table before moving towards her wardrobe cupboard to take out her dress for the work day.**

' **Kara what did Cat say to you on the phone'?**

' **Well… she was definitely not happy about what you told her to do'. Kara gave out a nervous laugh as she spoke the words.**

' **I wasn't talking about what she said to me Kara'. Alex replied smartly with her usual wry smile and glaring eyes, the kind of look Kara was all too familiar with whenever Alex had discovered she was nervous about something.**

 **Kara wasn't surprised when she found herself revealing her true feelings to her big sister the moment after Alex spoke those words. The sister bond between them was just too deep and strong.**

' **I'm disturbed because Cat just told me over the phone that Winn hadn't showed up for work yet Alex. It's not like him to not show up for work when Ms. Grant has a video conference planned with presidential candidates. Just yesterday, she had him set up a video conference with Hilary and today she was supposed to have a special Q &A with Donald Trump'. **

' **I'm surprised she hasn't grilled the old gun Bernie Sanders yet'. Alex laughed sharply and made Kara smile and chuckle in return.**

' **Just call him up and calm his nerves Kara. I'm sure he'd be at his apartment right now half dressed and confused about whether to run from the challenge or face it'.**

 **Kara gave out a little sigh as she picked up her phone and called Winn. She waited patiently hoping that Winn would eventually pick up and say 'hello' like he normally did when she called but there was no response. Now Kara was even more worried, she called both James and Lucy but neither one had spoken to Winn that day.**

' **It is rather strange'. James admitted when Kara told him about the issue.**

' **He may have had the butterflies Kara but he usually does show up for work later after you've talked to him', James continued.**

' **I'm really starting to worry now James. I mean it's not just Winn but now I also have to show up late for work and now whose going to set up Ms. Grant's conference if he isn't there'.**

 **Kara muttered anxiously.**

' **Now…now… just don't worry about Cat alright, me and Lucy will deal with her today. You just go to Winn's apartment and find out what's going on'. James replied to her reassuringly.**

' **Thank you James. You're always such a big help to me. I don't know what I'd do without you'.**

' **Nah don't mention it Kara. Just let me know what you find out alright'. James said lighting chewing up a bite of his favorite pepperoni before he hung up.**

 **After that Kara called Winn's landline phone and then called his cell phone twice but there was no response. Now Kara was feeling even more worried than before, she quickly informed Alex that She was heading to Winn's apartment to check on him.**

 **Alex told her to calm down. 'I'm sure he's holed up at his apartment Kara and too anxious to talk to anyone about his dilemma. Setting up two live feeds back to back is probably just too much for a sensitive guy like him'. 'Alex I still have to find out what's wrong. Please let Ms. Grant know I'm off to meet Winn in case she calls again'. Kara replied as she took her car keys from the key chain holder and walked out of her apartment.**

 **Kara had a bad feeling in her heart the whole time as she drove from her apartment to Winn's. The distance was hardly a few miles so it wasn't long before she found herself parking her silver black sedan in the parking lot of Starling Avenue. She was much quicker than usual in walking out of the elevator after it had reached the 14** **th** **floor and was seriously surprised and shocked when she saw that Winn's apartment was locked and bolted from the outside. She gave a slight twitch to her glasses, which was an act that she usually did when she was feeling really nervous and once again checked her phone to see whether Winn had finally called her back or left a text. However, to her dismay all she could see were two missed calls and an angry text from Cat Grant asking her to call back immediately.**

' **I just can't find any peace in life due to that woman'. Kara said out loud with a sigh and a troubled and exasperated expression on her face.**

 **Cat picked up at the other end after just one beep.**

' **Keerah! I've been trying to reach you since the past 45 minutes. What the hell is going on with that stupid little tech freak I made such a mistake to hire. I have no time to deal with such foolishness and irresponsibility. When you find him tell him that he's fi…**

' **Miss Grant'! Kara said in a rather firm tone so that she could interrupt Cat's angry tirade successfully.**

' **I think something bad has happened to Winn. Please don't do anything rash right now. Give him a chance. I'm sure there's a solid explanation for all this'.**

' **Well…ah.. well okay… but if you want to let that scrawny little pet friend of yours walk through my doors again. You better have a jolly good explanation for me Keerah. I've had to endure more than half an hour of pure dread and perspiration because I was supposed to go live this morning and have a substantial amount of verbal judo with a certain presidential candidate'.**

' **I truly understand that Ms. Grant and I am really sorry. I will… I will find Winn as soon as I can and have him back at the office'. All Kara heard in reply was a click at the other end as Cat Grant hung up the phone. Kara looked at her own phone with a slight smirk and set her sight on the Vanderwaal's apartment'. I hope that mean lady is away from the apartment', Kara thought to herself as she tried to press the bell button into the socket due to her anxiety.**

 **She only had to wait for a few short minutes much to her relief, before the door opened and a petite looking boy of average height and wavy golden hair peered outside at her.**

' **Hi, Mike'. Kara said smiling and greeting the little boy cheerfully.**

 **Mike returned the greeting to her politely although Kara noticed that he looked slightly off and kind of jittery to her after showing himself. Coming straight to the point Kara asked him about Winn.**

' **He just told me to inform you that he had gone outside the city for a job search'. Mike said in a jittery voice just as Chester came running towards the both of them barking loudly after he saw Kara standing in the doorway. He was feeling rather forlorn since Winn had left him with Mike so seeing Kara was an extremely pleasing sight to the chubby little Labrador. After Winn, she was his most beloved person in the world.**

' **What, a job search?' Kara remarked with a puzzled expression on her face as she lovingly scratched Chester's head.**

 **Mike nodded at her, a worried expression quite visible on his face.**

' **I'm feeling worried since he left'. Mike admitted in an anxious tone. 'He looked really worried since he saw the letter I gave him'.**

' **Which letter was that?' Kara asked still feeling puzzled by the disturbing situation at hand.**

' **It was given to me by the mailman this morning. Winn isn't home during the morning on weekdays so the mailman delivers his snail mail to us'.**

' **So you just handed it to him and he didn't tell you what it said'.**

 **Mike shook his head in disappointment. 'I wish I knew more Miss Kara'.**

 **Kara smiled sympathetically at the little boy. Being an only child she understood how much he looked up to Winn as a big brother and a friend. It must have been excruciating for him to know that Winn had departed like that without letting him know when he would be back again. 'Don't worry sweet heart. I will find out where he's gone and we will both see him again very soon, I promise'. She said patting and giving a gentle tap on the right side of his face. Mike said nothing and just nodded at her with a solemn look on his small face.**

 **Kara decided to rest herself for a while when Mike informed her that Mrs. Vandervaal was away at work and wouldn't be home till the end of the day. She took a glass of water patting Chester's head all the while that she drank. She could tell that Mike was really grateful for the company and personally felt sorry for the poor kid who as Winn had informed her earlier had been bullied regularly at school and had to deal with the emotional scars of a painful separation between his parents at such a young age. Ever since she had stood up for him at school one day his class mates had stopped picking on him because they knew that Supergirl had his back but still no one really gave him much attention the entire time he was at school.**

 **That's why Kara had decided to take this opportunity to spend time with Mike while she calmed her nerves before asking Mike to give her the phone number of the post man who delivered Winn's snail mail. She tried but she couldn't connect with the post man on his cell phone number so she noted the address of the post office branch where he worked and left the building after giving Mike a tight bear hug and asking him to take care of himself and Chester.**

' **Please let me know if you find anything Miss Kara'.**

' **I will certainly let you know honey. Please stay safe and happy for me okay.' Kara said shaking her fingers and smiling at him before she got into her car and left the building.**

 **She got a call from James Olsen just after she pulled out from the parking lot of Starling Avenue.**

 **However, she decided to call him back later and left him a one line message to mention just that. She felt relieved that Ms. Grant had not called her the entire time that she had been in the Vandervaal house with Mike. She felt a lot of gratitude for James for backing her up in the middle of this difficult situation where no one had any idea where Winn had suddenly disappeared. The distance between Starling and the post office branch wasn't that long and that's why Kara found herself parking her car near its entrance gate in only a short space of time. The post office building looked shabby and in dire need of a new coat of paint, the path leading to the main office block appeared in need of proper housekeeping and maintenance since it was lined with flowers that looked half dead in their pots and also the floor was quite clearly unsafe for pedestrians to walk since it had some large cracks in between for anyone who walked through it from the entrance gate to the entrance door of the office block.**

 **Kara could only see a wide open space when she went inside. There was no furniture visible over there and no rooms for desk job employees either. She kept walking for a little while feeling a bit dazed by the fact that she couldn't see anything apart from the floor and the ceiling inside the block. However, she finally found a large desk way up ahead as she used her X-ray vision to scan the entire area. 'What kind of fool did these people hire for interior design', she thought to herself as she began to walk briskly towards the desk after spotting it.**

 **She didn't waste much time and soon found herself looking at a few wooden chairs and a large table close to the desk that she had spotted earlier. A big burly man was sitting behind the desk reading the morning paper as he smoked a cigar letting out thick puffs of air as he exhaled from his lungs. The guy was short, bald and chubby with an ill kept beard and not so tidy overalls. Kara knew the moment he saw him that he wouldn't be of much help unless she gave him some money for a favor.**

' **Yea'? The guy asked in a sharp tone glaring at Kara as he let out the words.**

' **I'm… ah looking for Tibias cage, ah… the post man who delivers mail to Starling Avenue'.**

 **Kara replied pressing her glasses to her face as she spoke.**

 **The guy behind the desk kept glaring at her quizzically until he finally spoke again.**

' **Tibias cage?' no.. never heard of him'. He replied with a look of disdain on his chubby looking face.**

' **But I know he comes over there early morning. I've seen him myself a number of times'. Kara was feeling very agitated by the drab and lifeless atmosphere and the lackluster feedback that she was getting from that guy.**

' **Listen here lady. I've got work to do alright'. The guy retorted impatiently. 'Just retrace your steps and go back where you came from'.**

 **Kara was now getting livid due to this serious lack of cooperation and for an instant she almost lost her patience wanting to punish the crooked guy with her super strength. However, she was able to catch herself in time and avoid inflicting damage upon herself due to recklessness. So instead of blowing the lights out of the guy in front of her she only gave him a steely glare instead. 'Well… thanks for nothing', she remarked trying to sound as angry as possible. The guy behind the counter just shrugged his shoulders and made a face at her enjoying the fact that he had offended her.**

 **Kara walked away a few paces from where the guy was sitting and then used her 'super hearing' ability to try and find out if anyone else was present in the office block that day. 'Surely there must be someone out there right now. Maybe I'll even get to hear someone say Tibias cage out loud'. Kara thought to herself as she removed all other thoughts from her mind and forced it to focus only on the continuously overlapping sounds that were now colliding furiously onto her ear drums. With the passage of time, Kara had successfully learnt how to only focus on those noises which she needed to hear and block out everything else that came along with them. It did not take her long to hear noises coming from just a little distance away within the same office block. It was quite a banter that appeared to be taking place between a group of people who were very close by.**

 **Having heard them talk, Kara wasted no time and moved into the direction from which the voices were coming from. It was a long passage which kept getting lengthier as she walked towards the right side of the large desk of the arrogant person with whom she had just had an unhelpful conversation. The passage was just as drab and empty as the rest of the office block she had just been through. Kara had a long smirk on her face when she saw dirt and dust scattered all across the floor tiles, the peeling paint on the side walls and the poor condition of the doors to the office rooms lined up in single file across the area. After walking or rather 'crawling like a snail' (from a kryptonian's point of view) Kara found herself gazing at a door that was much broader in size than the ones she had seen on her way through the passage. On the center of the room the word 'Canteen' was written in large block letters, and Kara could hear muffled voices coming from inside which were of course much clearer this time since she was now just inches away from them. She didn't hesitate and rapped at the door forcefully. The door opened up in no time and a large burly man stood in the doorway glaring at her.**

 **Yeah? He said in a sharp tone.**

' **I want to see Tibias Cage right now'. Kara replied impatiently. She was now feeling extremely irritated by this deplorable and shabby looking place and it's twisted, mean and unhelpful inhabitants.**

' **Tibias'? Kara was now on the verge of a major rage blackout since this guy was also fooling around with her like the one before him. He had a playful and sly expression on his face which clearly indicated that he wished to inflict further harassment.**

' **Tell me where he is right now'! Kara had literally shaken up the entire room with a violent high pitched shriek. She glared at the man and raised her arm as if about to punch right in the center of his sly nasty looking face.**

' **Cut it out Ed ya big douche'. said someone sitting at the very end of the room. The person who had spoken got up from his seat and walked up to where they were standing.**

' **This is he'. The other guy said in a hushed tone apparently unimpressed by the sudden and forced conversation with Kara.**

' **You deliver mail to Starling Avenue'. Kara jumped straight to the point.**

' **Yes so'. Tibias folded his arms as he spoke the words.**

' **Well, my friend Winn he lives on the fourth floor. He got a mail from someone yesterday. I want to know who it was from'.**

' **What's in it for me princess? I don't give away privileged information. Unless of course ah…' Ed and the other people behind him laughed in unison as Tibias made a face at them with a dirty look in his eye. Kara felt a rush of anger boiling inside her when she saw the low lives laughing foolishly in front of her. But she wisely restrained herself from making a mistake that she would seriously regret. She could have easily skinned everyone of them alive in less than a second if she had used her brute strength but she knew that doing so would force her to reveal her secret despite the fact that it could bring the ill mannered Tibias to his senses. So instead Kara channeled her anger and used her intelligence to find a way out of the dilemma.**

' **We'll see how much you laugh when you're out in the police torture cell where they beat the hell out of you until you reveal the name of the person that sent the letter'.**

 **Tibias looked a bit nervous after hearing that even though he tried his best not to show it.**

' **What nonsense is this? Are you threatening me lady? His tone was harsh and menacing as he spoke. However, Kara did not flinch for even a fraction of a second.**

' **Well, Mr. bananas I won't even need to say a single word to you when the police find out that you've been hiding information that is necessary to help locate a missing person'. Kara said forcefully.**

' **Winn has been missing from home since last evening'. Kara continued after seeing the surprised and dubious expression quite apparent on Tibias' face. 'His disappearance is directly linked to the letter that you delivered to him. I need to know from where you took that letter Tibias'.**

 **Everyone in the room had now gone silent and they were all looking at Tibias to see when he would respond to Kara. 'It was that guy Winn's landlord, Francis Malone. He was the one who handed me that letter'. Tibias finally said after prancing around for quite some time.**

 **Kara heaved a sigh of relief after Tibias gave her Malone's address. She did not even say good bye before leaving because she had been through a great deal of turmoil in that disgusting Post Office branch and she could not wait to move away from the place as quickly as she could. After leaving the building she quickly started the car and began to drive as fast as she could to find out what Malone had sent Winn. While she was driving she got a call from Alex asking her what was happening. Kara informed her sister how she had to grind the postman Tibias for the information on Winn and that she was heading out towards Malone's residence to find out exactly what was so shocking in his letter that had made him run off from home like that. 'I hope you find what you're looking for Kara. It's a real shock to find this out about Winn especially since he's joined the DEO full time and been such a wonderful asset to the team'. Alex had commented before she and Kara hung up their phones on either end.**

 **Kara reached the place soon after ending the call from Alex. She got out from the car and used the automatic system in her car keys to lock the doors and bolt all the windows before proceeding towards the entrance door of Malone's residence. She had only taken a few steps from her car when she saw Ms. Grant's incoming call.**

' **Yes Ms. Grant'. She said in a hushed tone feeling surprised at her nervousness.**

' **Keerah where on God's earth have you been this whole day'. Kara felt alarmed when she heard this. She remembered that she had already asked James earlier to inform Siobhan to cover for her while she was looking for Winn.**

' **Miss Grant… I had told James…' she was cut off in mid sentence.**

' **Keerah… is James my personal assistant or are you'? Kara tried her best to calm Cat Grant down when she found out to her utter dismay that no one had gone to Ms. Grant's room to serve lunch that day and that she had had to wait for more than half an hour for one of her IT guys to set up the live feed for the video discussion with Donald Trump.**

' **Miss Grant, I am so sorry for all this trouble. I will make sure that this doesn't happen again'.**

 **However, Cat was still not at all satisfied and gave some very harsh remarks to Kara before finally hanging up. Kara let out a heavy sigh, after having to go through so much criticism. She felt really angry at James for letting her down like that, especially after knowing how important it was for her to take a break from the office that day and find out about Winn. However, she knew quite well that now was not the time to blame herself or worry about Cat Grant. She had finally made it to the place she wanted to be at and so it was finally time for her to get some answers.**

 **The place where Kara parked her black sedan was a clean parking lot outside of the large house where Malone lived. As Kara walked up to a large broad black colored entrance gate the top of which was fenced with barbed wire with a small white video camera situated at the top right corner of the side wall, she noticed how different this locality was from the ramshackle post office she had just been in. This area was like the upper east side of National City where some of the most wealthy and influential people in the states had their residences. 'This guy must be extremely rich'. Kara thought to herself as she pressed her index finger on the small red bell button. No one opened the door as she stood waiting for someone to arrive so she had to ring the bell twice more before she finally heard someone give a shout from inside. 'Whose there'? the voice was female and rather unpleasant and annoyed as Kara deduced from the tone. It was followed by a loud volley of barking by a supposedly large and angry dog judging by the high and deep pitch of the noise.**

' **My name is Kara Danvers. I'm here to meet Mr. Malone'. Kara replied trying to be as firm and confident as possible after being rather taken aback by such a harsh and unpleasant welcome. There was silence for a few minutes but just as Kara began to wonder that the woman inside had deliberately ignored her; the front door was pulled open and a broad black woman of average height stood at the front door looking at Kara with a mean look on her face. She had short neatly trimmed jet black hair, she wore a light black colored t-shirt with a large image of Nicky Minaj drawn at the center of it and plain white trousers. She also wore a silver necklace and had a small tattoo of a cougar on her left wrist. The large black and white bull dog who had barked after her was looking at Kara with an unwelcoming stare and continuously revealing his sharp pointed teeth as he continued to stare at her.**

' **Why, you looking for Malone huh'? the woman drawled in her black American accent.**

' **Well, I'm here because of my friend Winn'.**

' **Winn, what's a Winn...a baseball Win? The woman laughed sarcastically making the bull dog bark loudly as he continued to glare away at Kara.**

' **Winn is my friend. He's a tenant of Mr. Malone and…' Kara's sentence was cut short just as She was about to complete it.**

' **And this concerns me why?' the woman asked as she folded her arms and the expression on her face turned from sarcastic amusement to a mean looking frown.**

' **Well it concerns you absolutely because my friend got a letter from Malone yesterday evening and he's been missing since then. So unless you want the police to know that you're not cooperating in a missing person's investigation, you better take me to Malone and let me ask him some questions'. Kara was fuming and full of rage because the woman had just made her lose the end of all her patience especially after all the pain she had been through ever since she had woken up that day.**

 **The woman rolled her eyes and scowled at Kara in frustration. 'Malone! Hey, Malone! Come here right now and stop washing that bloody old dog for a minute'. The woman cried.**

 **Kara pressed her glasses onto her eyes with her right hand upon hearing the loud voice of the woman; a thing she usually did when she was feeling anxious due to some unpleasant occurrence. The woman waited with the bull dog at her heels for a few moments along with Kara. She had her hands on her hips and was chewing her gum impatiently, her scorn getting more and more apparent as she waited for Malone to show up. The woman was about to leave the entrance gate in fury and exasperation when finally they heard footsteps and muffled barking a short distance away from where they stood. Kara could make out the distant frame of a tall broad shouldered man walking vigorously towards them with a big hairy looking Cocker Spaniel at his heels. As they drew closer, Kara discovered that the man was close to middle age. He wore a big black colored cowboy hat and had a glowing clean shaven and chiseled face. There was a strong pleasant smell of cologne swirling into the air from his body. He wore a light green open neck polo shirt with light black faded jeans and a good looking pair of dark shades which he removed from his eyes after he had finished walking up to Kara and the woman with her bull dog. Kara was half expecting the two dogs to bark and snap their teeth at each other but surprisingly to her they were both very docile and quiet when they were standing just a few feet away from other.**

' **This woman here's been getting on nerves since the past half an hour'. The black lady exclaimed moving her hands in the air to express her agitation. Malone didn't happen to take any notice of her reaction; he smiled, shook hands with Kara and introduced himself to her.**

' **My name is Vincent Malone. Is there something I can help you with?' he said smiling all the while as he spoke. The woman shook her head once more and left with the now rather docile and friendly looking bull dog trotting slowly behind her heels.**

' **Sorry about Cassandra there. She's been in a foul mood lately because of our dad'. Malone said in a friendly voice.**

' **That explains the stern spiteful attitude then'. Kara enjoyed the playfulness after all the rough behavior she had been forced to bear from the people whom she had met that day.**

 **Malone winked and had a wry smile on his face after hearing Kara's response.**

' **I'm here for my friend Winn'. Kara decided to get straight to the point because she felt that she wouldn't be able to resist Malone's alluring boyish charm if she continued with the small talk any further. Malone was very friendly and receptive to Kara's story which she told him as precisely and shortly as she could. When she had finished talking, he looked apologetically at her as he gave her the explanation she had been so eager to receive ever since finding out that Winn had disappeared.**

' **My dad is the one who owns that apartment'. Malone explained. 'He's been sending notices to your friend since the past few months regarding his outstanding rent payments but a lot of that outstanding amount was still due despite frequent reminders'.**

' **And so your dad decided to send Winn a final notice'. Kara scoffed in anger and disappointment shaking her head.**

' **I'm really sorry. I don't have much sway with my dad. I tried to reason with him and asked him to give your friend a chance. Honestly, I've never thrown out any tenant as per my own decision but this apartment was not in my ownership otherwise I…' Kara stopped Malone from continuing with the blabber because she'd gotten the information she needed and didn't like to see a friendly looking person like him embarrassing himself in front of her for something he hadn't done.**

' **It's okay Mr. Malone. Thank you for your time'. Kara said smiling at the friendly looking guy in front of her.**

' **Please stay for a while at least and have some wine and supper with us'. Malone asked her courteously.**

' **No thank you. I really must be going and do what I can to locate my friend'. Kara replied.**

 **Malone gave her his best wishes and gave her his contact number in case she needed anything else from him.**

' **Do let me know how it turns out'. Malone called out to her, scratching the head of his lovely dog as he spoke.**

' **I will. Thank you so much again for your help'. Kara smiled and waved back at him as she gunned the engine. Kara's next stop was Lucy and James' apartment which was quite a fair distance away from Malone's residency and right on the edge of National City. Not only was she eager to update him and Lucy about the news she had received about Winn but she had also been meaning to find out why James hadn't backed her up like he would normally do. In her heart she had a sinking feeling that something bad must have happened to James as well. 'I don't think that I've ever witnessed a day as bad as this one during all the time I've been here on this planet'. Kara thought to herself as she continued to drive towards her destination.**

 **It wasn't long before Kara was standing outside Lucy and James' apartment rapping sharply at the entrance door. The apartment was on the tenth floor of the fifteen story building, it was right in the middle of the floor and just a few paces from the elevator and the stairs. The entrance door was light pink in color and was covered from the left and right corners with artificial grass. A money plant was hanging a fair distance from the ground at the right side edge of the entrance door. There was also a nice and well thought out arrangement of a few flower pots that were lined up neatly together in a horizontal position at each side of the entrance. Each pot contained a couple of flowers with colors different from the next. Kara rapped forcefully on the door, she was obviously more than eager to get inside and ask James the reason why he hadn't followed up with Ms. Grant in her absence and also share the information she had received regarding Winn. Much to her relief, she only had to wait for a few seconds before the door was swung open and she could see a rather exhausted looking Lucy Lane standing in the doorway. She wore a white colored flannel shirt and light black sweat pants, her trimmed and shiny jet black hair was uncombed and some beads of sweat could be vividly seen trickling down from her forehead.**

' **Hi, Kara'. She smiled, apparently looking relieved that someone had finally come to meet her. 'Lucy you look really tired. What's going on?' Kara said feeling more anxious than before after seeing Lucy in such a state.**

' **Please come inside'. Lucy replied curtly, gesturing her with a swift motion of her right hand. Now that Kara was away from the prying eyes of strangers she removed her glasses and put them on a side table in the living room. Without glasses, she looked more like Supergirl rather than Kara Danvers. Lucy led the way to her spacious, spotless and icy cool bedroom. James could be seen lying in a straight posture on the bed, his left arm covering his eyes and forehead as cool wisps of air swirled around the length and breadth of the room. Kara was alarmed to see that there was a large bandage on James' right shoulder. The bandage looked rather prominent especially since James was wearing a light weight basketball jersey that totally exposed his shoulders and abs to any on looker who would enter the room.**

 **Kara was about to speak out loud in shock when Lucy restrained her from doing so just in time. She put a finger to her lips and gently tip toed towards James, giving his left side shoulder a gentle shake so that he would wake up without reacting in shock.**

' **James, Kara has come to see you'. Lucy whispered in his ear as she continued to gently shake his left side shoulder in order to wake him up. James was up in a short while, blinking his eyes as the sharp rays of the sun streaming from the ceiling windows pierced through his wide open eyes. 'Kara'. He looked surprised and confused to see her standing up close to him unannounced. 'James what happened to you?'. Kara strode closer to the bed with a pained expression on her face.**

' **He was outside of Catco for some errand during work hours'. Lucy started to explain. 'And then I was jumped by two burly guys in the little lane beside the Catco plaza which is usually always empty'. James said joining into the conversation eagerly. Kara could see a sudden surge of pain engulf James' face when he exerted some pressure on the injured shoulder so that he could sit up straight to talk. 'Oh no. how could this happen? Why is everything going wrong? Everything…' Kara cried out in anguish, she really couldn't take such a load of anguish in a single day. First it was Winn who had shockingly disappeared without telling anyone where he was going or when he would be back and then there was the episode at the post office, her blow out with Cat and now poor James was lying in bed with a bruised shoulder. It clearly was a lot to take for her. James began to soothe her with comforting words as Lucy went to get some water for Kara to calm her nerves. 'Please have hope Kara. I'm sure that we will find a way to hear from Winn very soon'.**

' **I just hope that he's doing alright James. I couldn't live with myself if he was in trouble and I couldn't save him'. Kara said in a broken voice.**

' **Hey… hey… Kara… it's ok… it's ok'. I'm sure wherever he is he's looking out for himself. Our Winn is tenacious. He'll look out for himself'. James tried reassuring Kara, giving her a big wide smile to cheer her up as he spoke.**

 **3**

 **Winn felt extremely cold due to the intense air conditioning in the large bus. He was hoping there was a room so that he could change into some warmer clothing for the six hour journey to Opal city. He hadn't spent much time in packing for the trip to his mother's house due to the fear of losing his 6 o' clock bus. Winn wasn't looking forward to the trip ahead at all because his mom was never happy to see him, strange as it was. 'I just hope she hasn't gotten another of her boyfriends in the house'. Winn thought with worry as he recalled the many occasions where he had almost been beaten to a pulp before his mom Esther had stepped in to stop the torture. Ever since his father had been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for multiple murder attempts, Esther had never stopped drinking and swearing at everything and everyone who had the misfortune of meeting her. She also started calling over her drinking buddies to the house which made it harder and harder for Winn to survive at home and retain his sanity at the same time. No matter how worse it got Winn had made up his mind to keep going for Esther's sake as well as his own. He kept his patience during the short relationships that Esther kept with her numerous boyfriends and did his best to cure her from the severe depression of losing her husband to such a lengthy prison sentence.**

 **He was lucky to find a warm blanket lent to him by a kind soul sitting next to him on the bus. The blanket was wonderfully warm and Winn only opened his eyes when he could see the familiar scent of Cinnamon trees which were spread all across the vast terrain of Opal city. Upon reaching his mother's house Winn felt great disappointment in finding out that his mom was seeing a little league baseball player called 'Lafferty'. The first sight of him filled Winn with absolute disgust. Standing next to the fridge Lafferty was earnestly gulping away one of the many bottles of booze that Esther kept in the fridge for all her boyfriends. When Esther tried to forcefully take it away from him, he gave her a hard shove that made her head collide with the fridges' bottom door. Winn never felt as enraged as the way he felt after that incident. He leapt at Lafferty swinging his fists with all his might, wanting to put a heavy dent on his face. But Lafferty was quick enough to first dodge Winn's attack and then knock the wind out of him with a sharp blow into the stomach. The impact was excruciating and poor Winn stumbled on the floor instantly, gasping and shaking violently like a fish taken out of water. He clutched his stomach with both hands and he was crying out from the intense pain.**

' **Leave him alone Lafferty. Stay away from him'. Esther was shrieking at the top of her lungs as she came in between Lafferty and Winn and went towards Winn to try and comfort him.**

' **It serves him right'. Lafferty was extremely furious and was continually giving Esther and Winn a menacing glare as he opened the refrigerator once more and took out yet another bottle of booze, striking quite a pose as he did it. Winn had an intense smirk on his face as he pulled his hands away from Esther when she tried to reach him.**

' **Winn, where are you going'? Esther looked completely shocked and baffled by this unexpected turn of events. She ran after Winn as he tore towards the bedroom and began to throw things out of Esther's purse with great force.**

' **Winn. Stop it. Stop it right now'. Esther cried as she tried to snatch the purse away from her son'.**

' **Or what mom' Winn screamed at her as he moved away from her reach with seething rage. 'All that you care about is keeping this damn roof over your head and making out with your filthy boy friends'.**

' **What did you say?' Lafferty said as he entered the room and smashed his fist against the room wall in fury.**

' **I will say what the damn hell I want to say. You got that.' Winn snapped angrily, clearly losing all his restraint after being through such a tormenting ordeal.**

 **Esther wailed loudly and pushed Lafferty with all her strength to prevent him from attacking her son again. With a look of complete rage and disgust on his face Winn pulled out a large handful of dollar bills from the purse and began to walk out of the house in a rush.**

' **Winn… Winn…get back here… you little'… Esther tore towards him trying to yank him away from the exit door that led to the house terrace outside. The dollar bills flew into the air as Winn tried to pull himself away from his mother who was using all her strength to prevent him from walking away.**

 **Lafferty laughed loudly and clapped his hands together as Esther sent a barrage of blows on Winn's chest in her fury. 'You insolent, ungrateful….'**

' **Just…Stop!', 'Right now'. Winn was now at the highest point of his fury. Even a frat punk like Lafferty suddenly became grim and Esther had a puzzled and alarmed look on her face since she had never seen her son act as angry as this before. Winn had a crazy look in his eyes… the seething rage inside him could be clearly seen boiling inside them. Wrinkles had madness written all over his face due to the rage that he felt at the present time.**

 **Both Esther and Lafferty watched in stunned silence as Winn began to pick up bill after bill and stuff it inside a small zip pocket on the rear end of his backpack. Lafferty was silent for a while but the shock of seeing Winn in such a dangerous rage was now beginning to wear off and be slowly replaced by a hateful feeling as he saw all the money he had been planning to use get stuffed inside the back pack of this stupid kid who had suddenly popped into the house without any intimation.**

 **When Winn had nearly stored half of the bills Lafferty could no longer take the torture anymore. Like a wild mob in a demonstration he dashed towards Winn and pushed him roughly in the centre of his chest. The force of the blow was too strong for Winn to avoid falling hard on his back onto the floor.**

' **Clear out of this house right now'. Lafferty said in a loud and angry voice.**

' **This isn't your house man'. Winn retorted sarcastically making a comical face at Lafferty as he spoke the words. Lafferty totally lost his cool after that and sucker punched Winn straight in the face.**

' **Stop it laff…Oh… I can't deal with this'…. Esther wailed and cried piteously grabbing a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a lighted cigarette in the other.**

' **Mom… please… hear me out', Winn pleaded with his mother as a trickle of blood began to run down from his lips. 'Just leave… please just stay away… far away'…. Esther shook her head and put a hand on her face as she sighed with a face full of hurt and despair.**

' **But… but… mom… where am I going to go'? Winn said in a choked and angry voice.**

 **Esther said nothing as Lafferty scowled at him and slammed the door in his face after pushing him away from the entrance towards the house terrace outside.**

 **Winn stood shell shocked and dumbfounded for a few minutes, he glanced at the gravel that was spread across the entire length and breadth of the terrace. He looked at the sky, struggling to shield his eyes from the blazing sun. He had a sudden urge to tap forcefully at the entrance door, throw Lafferty across the street, call 911 emergency, have his mother admitted into a mental institution and take possession of the house all by himself. But common sense prevailed and he forced himself to remain stranded in his tracks. He stood motionless with a pained expression on his face looking up at the heavens, the blazing sun overhead piercing through his eyes as he looked. Then when the sharp sunlight became too much for his naked eyes to handle he blinked vividly and finally looked away, dismay and sheer despair engulfed his entire being like a heavy blanket of fog spread all across a vast and empty sea. He walked with slow and steady steps and a heavy heart out of a house where he had spent his entire childhood. As he stood outside on the street he pictured the entire structure one last time before he began a lonely journey like a lonely sailor making his way through a vast and treacherous expanse of unchartered waters.**

 **He kept walking until he reached the bus stand on the main road. The Winslow house was situated in the center of Opal City so nearly all the buses stopped there for passengers who intended to ply to different areas all over the city. Winn felt a sudden pang of shock and fear as he looked nervously at the small stack of cash he had managed to scramble from Esther and Lafferty at the Winslow residence. 'Barely enough to cover me for a month's food', Winn whispered under his breath as he sat waiting for the South City express which was due to arrive in a few minutes.**

' **Where to sonny'? Winn looked towards his right and found out that an old man sitting next to him had spoken the words. He had a moustache and a wrinkled old face. He wore a faded trench coat and was vigorously puffing away at his pipe when he stared back at Winn behind a pair of neatly polished spectacles.**

' **I'm headed south'. Winn replied curtly, not at all being in the mood for any small talk especially at such a low and vulnerable point in his life.**

 **The old man nodded and took a glance at his rather old fashioned wrist watch to see the amount of time left before the bus arrival. The old man and Winn were the only two people sitting at the bus stand at that time. Winn was trying really hard to avoid showing the overwhelming anxiety and panic that he was feeling at that time. More than half an hour had passed away since his arrival at the bus stand and after having looked more than five times at his rather modest looking cell phone he scratched his head in frustration and took out his wallet to once again count the handful of dollar bills he had snatched from his mother and her menacing boyfriend. As he was counting the bills he realized that it wasn't a good idea because it only intensified the anxiety even further.**

' **I've been on the road since I was an infant'. Winn glanced sharply at the old man who was staring at him with a twinkle in his light blue eyes. Winn felt pissed at the old man at first for distracting him like that but then being the kind and considerate person that he was he decided to gather himself and respond calmly. 'I see. That's rather disturbing'.**

 **The old man had a wry smile as he saw the clearly nervous look on Winn's face when the latter replied to him. Just then they heard a blaring horn in the distance followed by the enormous image of the South City express which had finally arrived at the bus stop.**

 **Winn and the old man boarded the large locomotive as soon as it came to a halt near the bus stop.**

' **Hardly enough young men left in this country to care for the elderly'. The old man's twinkling eyes seemed to laugh in unison with his mouth as Winn courteously allowed him to board first. After he climbed inside Winn found out that the bus was completely occupied apart from a couple of merged seats at the rear end. The old man had already occupied one of them and was signaling Winn to sit on the other one next to him. Winn wasn't happy about the unpleasant situation in which he found himself. He had been secretly hoping to stay away from the man and be able to forget about him as soon as he arrived at Roulette where he had planned to meet up with an uncle. To Winn's further dismay the man had just lit up a cigar and was about to go for his first puff of the trip downtown.**

' **Hey. I don't mean to be rude sir. But can you please not smoke in here right now?' Winn said in a voice which he couldn't stop from being inappropriately loud. The man took off his glasses and stared at Winn with a little smile while raising the side window with his right hand. After the window was fully open the man then proceeded to stretch his head out for a second before releasing a cloud of smoke into the atmosphere.**

' **How about that young man'? He asked rhetorically after sitting up straight on his seat once again.**

' **It still doesn't make it right'. Winn said in a much more assertive tone since he was now a lot more angry than polite especially after realizing that he was stuck with the old man for at least another half an hour before he exited from the stupid bus.**

 **The old man gave Winn a funny look before laughing out with all his heart and then much to Winn's surprise he drew out his hand for a shake instead of retorting.**

' **My name is Oswald Rickman'. The hand shake got Winn a bit off guard which much to his disappointment made him stammer a little as he responded to the introduction.**

' **I am pleased to meet you Winn'. Oswald said enthusiastically.**

' **Where exactly are you headed?' Oswald said It with a raised eyebrow which was especially prominent as it jutted out quite clearly from the top of his shades.**

' **Roulette'. Winn replied very shortly since he was quite clearly not in the mood for any kind of conversation given his precarious predicament. Oswald kept attempting to make conversation as the bus trudged along at a slow pace towards Roulette much to Winn's frustration and disappointment. Winn was making sure that he did not pay any serious attention to Oswald's comments and he was really being successful in achieving that objective until he suddenly looked jolted by a sharp vibration that buzzed from his cell phone.**

 **Winn looked alarmed after looking at the words 'Cousin Jeff calling' that he felt were literally bouncing out of the mobile screen into his eye sockets.**

 **He cancelled a couple of times but the caller at the other end was annoyingly persistent so in a desperate attempt to prevent Oswald from being dangerously curious; Winn reluctantly picked up the call when his phone vibrated for the third time.**

' **Oh… hi… Jeff… heh.. heh… how did you… ah... why did you call me all of a sudden'. Winn stammered uneasily.**

 **Jeff was Winn's only uncle who also lived in Opal City in the Roulette area. Just like his elder sister Jeff also had a rather mean and unpleasant personality. Being knee deep in financial issues he had resorted to excessive drinking and swearing since the past few months. He lived alone in a ramshackle apartment in the tiny and unpleasant vicinity of Roulette since the past few months after his wife had finally abandoned him after the constant and never ending abuse that he kept giving to her and their daughter Megan. She had successfully sued him for Megan's custody and possession of their property in Manhattan. After taking this heavy blow Jeff had begged and pleaded with Esther and Mr. Winslow to loan him some money so that he could buy his own property and make an honest effort to start over again. Being a twisted and sly man himself, Winslow had easily predicted Jeff's devious intentions. Winslow knew that Jeff was not the kind of person who would return anything back to anyone so he had been very forceful at first in refusing the loan but due Esther's blind trust in her brother he had to cave in and part with the money eventually. Jeff had made a vow to the Winslows that he would return the money as soon as his financial situation improved but as per his past behavior he refused to abide by this promise. Now Winn was headed towards Jeff's house to demand the same amount of money that he still owed to his family. He had planned to go there unannounced to put Jeff off his guard and perhaps persuade him to provide the money which he so badly needed to start fresh in Opal City.**

 **However, Lafferty who knew all about this situation (thanks to Esther's drunkenness and naivety) had forced Esther to call Jeff and ask him to refuse the money to Winn.**

' **I won't let that little pest snatch it away before I retrieve every single dime from your cunning weasel of a brother'. Lafferty had said threateningly to Esther before she called Jeff in a shaken state and told him exactly what Lafferty wanted her to say. Jeff was not the slightest bit amused to receive Esther's call but he listened intently to her message when he found out what was at stake. He decided to launch a preemptive strike and called Winn straight after saying foul stuff to Esther and hanging up on the previous conversation that he was having with her.**

 **Now in the present scenario Winn was struggling with this unpleasant call from his uncle. He was trying hard to be as curt as he possibly could while at the other end Jeff screamed and yelled at Winn to his heart's content taking full advantage of Winn's meek and uncomfortable response at the other end of the line. Winn's reluctance to snap back at Jeff and release the boiling rage inside him was simply due to his fear that he was being so closely scrutinized by Oswald who was sitting mere inches away from him. When the abuse became too much for Winn to handle he finally managed to stammer a panicky goodbye and hang up the call in a hurry. However, Winn had no idea that Oswald had managed to listen in on the entire conversation that he had just had with his uncle. It was the silence in the bus, the strong connection during the call and the bellowing voice of Winn's uncle that had allowed Oswald to unintentionally eavesdrop on the entire conversation that had lingered on quite painstakingly for at least ten minutes. Having managed to hear every word, Oswald now knew just about everything regarding Winn's current predicament.**

 **He felt a rush of sympathy and kindness towards the disturbed and anxious young man whom he had met barely two hours ago. Oswald was especially shocked to find out how Winn had had to abandon his rented apartment in National City and rush over here to beg his mother to give him a place to stay. It was so unfair that he had been kicked out like that from his parents' home. 'It's beyond tragical'. Oswald shuddered as he thought about the intense misery he would have been feeling if he had been in Winn's shoes right now. Oswald decided at that moment that he would make sure that he took Winn into his shelter. 'This poor kid does not deserve to get strangled out there in the city slums at night'. Oswald murmured under his breath with a rather grave expression upon his face. So when the bus conductor finally cried 'Roulette' Winn was startled to feel Oswald's firm grip on his shoulder.**

' **Hey, old man. What the hell is wrong with you?' Winn said in a hushed and puzzled tone.**

' **You're coming home with me son'. Oswald had a firm and extremely determined look in his eyes as he spoke the words. Winn felt enraged for a moment or two but Oswald did not allow him to resist any further than that. Pushing Winn back onto his seat Oswald filled him in on all the things he had overheard between him and his uncle.**

 **Oswald was well aware that Winn would still try to resist and attempt to march away on his own like a hot headed and egoistic young man so he stood firm on his demand that Winn should agree to stay with him at his residence until he was capable enough to find and have his own. Winn finally caved in after some intense persuasion from Oswald whose sentences were starting to become angry as the Coast View area of Opal City drew closer and closer. Winn had realized after a heated exchange with Oswald in undertone that this offer was a lot better for him especially considering how shockingly difficult it would be for him to survive on his own without work and just a handful of dollar bills to live on. Even though Winn was afraid to show It he really was feeling a sudden gush of gratitude towards Oswald for rescuing him from the miserable situation which he had just shortly been facing. Winn felt a wave of sadness wrapping itself all over him when he thought about how he would miss National City and how painful it would be for him to be separated from everyone he loved over there especially Kara. He pictured Kara's pouting face whenever he was feeling distressed and had to turn towards her for help. How Kara would hold his hand and give him a nice pep talk for hours at her apartment while he patted Chester on the head as the sweet kindly faced Labrador placed his little head on Winn's lap. However, this time Winn knew that he had to get by on his own. 'I must do this without you Kara. As much as I miss you and would give anything to be with you, I need to go my separate way now. I'm not worth the trouble you'll have to endure if you found out about me and my monumental problems'. Winn thought to himself remorsefully. Just then the bus conductor finally gave the call for 'Coast view' which was his and Oswald's cue to depart from the bus. 'Just out of curiosity Oswald; even if you managed to eavesdrop on the conversation don't you think you're acting a lot like Atticus right now?' Winn asked cynically just after both of them had dropped down onto the sidewalk along with the last of the passengers on board the South City express.**

' **Why are you so interested in Atticus all of a sudden, huh'? Oswald's eyes gleamed behind his glasses and a wide grin formed on his face.**

 **Winn said nothing and just shrugged 'because you're acting like Atticus'. He said making a dubious face before saying those words. 'You've been talking all nice to me since we met and now you're forcing me to stay with you with no strings attached… at least apparently'. Winn eyed Oswald suspiciously. 'It beats me how you could just drag me along with you like that?'**

 **Winn was feeling really grim at that point and Oswald could clearly read that from his eyes.**

 **Oswald encouraged Winn to continue with his rant by not saying anything to him in reply.**

' **What's your wife going to say when she finds out about me, huh? What about accommodation? I mean…heh…do you have any spare room or do I sleep in the dog house with Rex? And…and… what about expenses? Or food or….. Winn had to abruptly stop his verbal tirade when Oswald gave him a sudden and sharp thump on the back.**

' **Hey… what was that for?' Winn had an annoyed look on his face as he rubbed the shoulder which had just been jolted by Oswald's thumping blow. Oswald's face was beaming as he shook Winn's right shoulder after stopping his train of words. 'Leave all of that to me son'. He said a big wide chuckle emerging from his kindly looking face. After that he walked in front of Winn and faced him with a wide smile. 'And now all that we need to focus on is the Pizza flavor that we are going to enjoy while we merrily trudge home like a band of triumphant Soldiers'. 'What flavor do you like'? Oswald said, narrowing his eyes at Winn playfully.**

' **I've lost my taste in pie since meeting you'. Winn said with a rather apparent smirk on his face which made Oswald laugh heartily as the two of them continued their stroll towards Oswald's house.**

 **Coast View looked bright and enchanting at this time of night. Silvery lights lit up the path way that Winn and Oswald were travelling through at that time, a full moon glistened brightly up ahead beaming its silvery light onto the landscape below and the soothing noise of the sea waves could also be heard coming from the beach nearby. Collectively the whole scenario was making Winn feel rather mellow and bittersweet, making him remember all the days he had spent in National City with Kara, James and the other people who had loved him and treated him like family. After they had walked for some time inside the area, Oswald suddenly motioned Winn to follow him. Winn found himself walking towards the beach side of the area as he began to follow Oswald. A long line of cars could be seen neatly parked together before the entrance to the beach. A long line of powerful flood lights illuminated the beach, making the whole place look more enchanting than ever. Oswald was walking towards a line of hot dog stands spread across the centre of the beach with a significant number of people flocked towards them. A scrumptious aroma rose from the stands as the sausages were being thoroughly cooked and packed in front of their ravenous consumers.**

 **Winn was surprised to notice that Oswald had ignored the stands in front of him and walked towards one particularly attractive woman who was chatting away merrily with a few teenage girls while grilling sausages at the same time.**

 **Winn was wondering how Oswald had managed to stay so lean and fit considering he had the appetite to consume hot dogs and pizzas during night time hours.**

' **Beautiful night, Evelyn', said Oswald, looking brightly at the attractive woman, his smile becoming broader while he saw Winn making an angry face at him from behind.**

' **Hi, Oswald', Evelyn replied merrily.**

' **Surprising to see you here at this time of night, and whose this handsome looking young man next to you?. Winn's face started to become red as he heard the words of praise.**

 **Oswald couldn't help laughing loudly seeing Winn's comical expression.**

' **Oh, this is my nephew Winn from California'.**

 **They stayed with Evelyn for a while and listened to her talk about her daily activities while munching away at the scrumptious sausages that she had prepared for them. Winn was surprised to find out that he too was really enjoying Evelyn's company. Being a feminist he loved meeting up with strong women who successfully juggled their work and personal lives on a daily basis and judging by the she was talking it clearly seemed to Winn that Evelyn was one of them.**

 **However, despite all this Winn was still feeling anxious and heartbroken about being away from his life back in National City. It was like a deep hole in his heart, preventing him from being fully entertained by the serene and heartwarming occasion that he was experiencing with Evelyn and Oswald.**

 **Evelyn gave both of them a warm hug before waving and saying goodbye to them as the crowd began to get thin and the other hot dog stands on the beach began to close up for the night.**

' **You sure know how to waste time old man'. Oswald just had a blank expression on his face, his eyes having a piercing look in them as Winn spoke those words in his typical sarcastic manner.**

' **Well my friend, you better brace yourself. A lot more time wasting is yet to follow'. Oswald replied giving Winn a gentle tap on the back.**

 **They did not have to walk for long after heading away from the beach and so it wasn't long before Winn found himself staring down a quiet little street at a large brightly colored bungalow. Winn felt a sudden bittersweet sensation jolt inside his body as he saw the pink paint spread across the perimeter of the roof and the nicely designed balcony on the top story where neatly arranged flower pots stood in single file, their brightly colored leaves glistening in the yellowish light which was flickering down from the ceiling bulbs.**

 **Winn's mind was going back to the days which he had spent as a child at the Winslow residence. He remembered just how similar that house looked compared to the one that he was seeing just now.**

' **Now don't look all downcast and mellow right now my friend'. Oswald commented with a sympathetic grin on his face. 'You need to brighten up your spirits for the pepperoni that's waiting for us with my daughter Rachel and his fiancé'. Winn replied with a wry smile in return as Oswald wrapped his arm around Winn's shoulder and they reached right up to the entrance door of the warm welcoming house right in front of them.**

 **4**

 **Kara was using her heat vision to warm up the pizza from the fridge. It was a cold and murky night in National City and there had been sheets of rain and heavy winds earlier in the day. Normally Kara used the microwave for these menial tasks especially since she now no longer felt any thrill when she used her super powers to get things done but National City was without power due to the hailstorm and that forced her to use her powers to heat up the pizza. In the tray that she was now carrying, there was a box of donuts, a few pot stickers and along with them the warm slices of pizza that she had just heated up using her heat vision. Close to the dining table where she placed the tray were James, Lucy, John Jonzz, Mike and Alex; all huddled together on the comfy sofa which was quite close to a large sized heater in Kara's dining room. Winn's beloved Chester was kneeling on the floor, his eyes downcast and his furry dog face in a state of deep dark gloom which could be very much said about all the other living creatures present in Kara's house at that time. Lucy who had been silently tapping away at her cell phone as she sat next to James, got up and helped Kara set the table when she saw her coming towards them with the tray in her hands.**

 **James ruffled Mike's hair and patted Chester's back to soothe them up for dinner. Alex and John also joined the others, getting up in unison for the meal.**

 **It had nearly been two weeks since Winn had left National City, Kara and James had scanned every inch of the city for Winn, they had asked all his contacts for intel and had even gotten Kara's cousin Clark A.K.A Superman to hunt for him in Metropolis. But sadly, there was still no luck and all their sources had given them nothing. Alex's girl friend Maggie Sawyer who worked for the NCPD had used her contacts to scout for all the known addresses within the state with the name 'Winslow' and the precinct in Winn's neighborhood did in fact manage to send a group of officers to his residence. But Lafferty, a washed up little league baseball player turned drug dealer could sense 'precinct' from a mile away, and that's why when the officers rapped at the front door, all they could see was a frazzled looking lanky young man in a simple night gown with a nervous look on his face.**

 **Lafferty was feeling extremely proud of himself underneath the fake façade that he had just so successfully displayed to the solemn looking and emotionless officers standing outside the door. After just a few light questions they excused themselves and even apologized to Lafferty for bothering him like that.**

' **It was ah… completely alright officers. It is forever my civilian duty to assist the authorities whenever I can'. Lafferty scratched his beard and gave them a subtle wave as the big flashy police car pulled out of the drive way, its headlights flashing brightly and its sirens blaring loudly in the distance. Once the police car was completely out of sight, the pleasant look on Lafferty's face abruptly changed into a nasty looking smirk. With a loud roar he tore into the house in great fury and began to break the wine bottles in the fridge one by one on the floor. Seeing Lafferty in this state his close friend Dylan rushed to the scene to stop him. Esther also rushed behind Dylan loudly screaming swear words at Lafferty as she arrived. However, Lafferty proved to be too strong and hysterical to get taken down, with a forceful blow he sucker punched Dylan who fell down with his head slamming violently against the floor.**

' **You turned the police against me woman. Huh! You turned the 'DAMN' police against me'. Lafferty swung his hand against a flower vase which splattered onto the floor with a deafening crash.**

' **Love, please… please… easy…' , Esther put a hand in front of him with a panicked expression on her face, taking a few quick puffs of her cigarette as she backed away from him in alarm.**

' **Please!' she screamed before the lights went out as Lafferty crashed a heavy blow onto her face with his right fist.**

' **Huh'… Kara suddenly jerked herself up onto her bed, perspiration trickling down from her forehead. It was really hot in the room now since the storm had passed away long ago and the heat was back to normal. Kara also realized that she hadn't opened her ceiling fan since she had gone to sleep before the power got restored.**

 **Feeling restless she decided to go up to the roof and get some air. 'It really must be unbearably hot tonight, for me to be getting such a sweat'. Kara thought as she opened her front door to fly. She felt better at the top because a strong wind was blowing which was giving a cool and comforting effect to her surroundings. She walked around the perimeter carrying a small bottle of coke in her hand that she continued to sip from time to time. Kara felt rather down in her spirits since so much time had gone by since Winn's absence. 'Ah... Winn if only you had reached out to me. Why did you have to go through this alone.' She sighed as she gently used her freeze breath to chill up her remaining drink. She had a melancholy feeling as she gazed around the humungous city that was spread before her at that light night our. Glancing at her cellphone, she found out that it was nearly 3 in the morning. It felt very eerie and lonesome to her to see thousands upon thousands of**

 **flickering lights in the vast dark emptiness of the night. She closed her eyes and concentrated on all the sounds that could be heard in that eerie stillness, the bark of a small house dog in some distant home in another neighborhood, shared laughter between a young couple deeply in love, the cry of a peacock, some late night shoppers and joy riders doing their best to party away their everyday sorrows. 'Come on Winn'. She said in a fit of rage and then let go with a deep sigh and a wide smirk on her face.**

 **'You don't have to let it deject you Kara'. called out an all too familiar voice up from where she was standing. 'Kal'. she beamed as she saw her handosome younger cousin drown down beside her. Neither of them were in their superhero suits so they both felt somewhat weird standing side by side in their night overalls at such a late hour.**

 **'It's weird seeing you come all the way out here from Metropoiis, Kal'.**

 **Clark had a wry smile on his face as he walked closer to Kara.**

 **'Well, I got a note from Jimmy a few days ago. said it was urgent'.**

 **Kara nodded solemnly looking down at her feet.**

 **'Winn's been missing Kal'.**

 **'What! when'.**

 **Kara filled him in on all the details. How Winn had left all of a sudden without saying goodbye. How they had searched for him all over National City but to no avail. Clark took in all the details with a grave look on his face. He felt upset knowing that Kara and his others friends had been through so much in his absence.**

 **'I know how hard this must be for you Kara. Makes me sad knowing that I wasn't there to support you'.**

 **Kara put her hand on Clark's shoulder telling him it wasn't his fault. And that she wanted to do it on her own without luring him into the search.**

 **'Kal I realize how close Winn is to you and how much you wanted to help him. I'm sorry I should've told you a lot sooner'.**

 **Clark was still optimistic that they could locate him. 'I'll get the daily planet to work on it. Lois will be so keen on this task'. Clark chuckled curtly.**

 **'Why would Lois want to help so much? Not that I'm complaining'. Kara stretched her arms with cynicism as she spoke.**

 **'Lois is short of assignments. This will help her through the stalemate'. Clark laughed heartiiy. Kara only responded with a wry smile and then started to focus again for Winn's voice using her superhearing ability.**

 **'Let's do it together. One of us may just get a lucky hit'. Clark said waving his arms to sound convincing.**

 **Kara only frowned at him in reply as she continually paced around the massive roof of the building taking a quick swig from her coke time and again as she walked.**

 **'I'm surprised that John hasn't been able to locate him yet'.**

 **'His powers are severely deplted Kal. He got a bad burn out after sending M'gan back to Mars using his psyche ability'.**

 **'That's too bad. How's he feeling?'.**

 **'Well he's doing better at least. Just not enough for us to pin a location on Winn'.**

 **Clark's focus got interrupted as Kara gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.**

 **'Aww Kara. Hey I said I was trying'. Clark frowned at her with a sideways glance.**

 **However, he quickly began to brighten up after hearing what Kara had to tell him.**

 **He lauded the idea that they link their superhearing through a psychic connection to find Winn.**

 **'I'll call John to meet us right now and teach us how to do it'. Kara said with renewed hope. John seemed rather dismal when he arrived, both Kara and Clark knew how he must be feeling. As director of the DEO he always felt that it was his duty to ensure that his staff were protected and rescued from danger as rapidly as possible. And now he had to live with the guilt of being unable to locate Winn and rescue him using his pyschic abilities.**

 **Kara smiled at him reassuringly, as he started linking her and clark's super hearing abilities.**

 **'We'll find him John. You can count on it'. Clark said patting his arm.**

 **John smiled at them curtly. 'Good luck both of you'.**

 **He flew back to the DEO once again, as both Supergirl and Superman started their quest with renewed vigor. Despite his past differences with Clark, John felt a sense of faith and trust towards him and a more hopeful feeling that it won't be long before Winn would finally be found.**

 **It felt weird for Kara to be able to feel Clark's spirit and his hearing in her mind. It was like she hearing had doubled due to the connection. She realized that Clark was having the same feelings as her. As Kara had predicted their combined energy was now allowing them to access the sounds that came from much longer and far flung distances. The human voices they heard felt like a tidal wave of screeching bats engulfing their entire existence from all sides. It gave Kara a wave of great joy to know that she could now hear people from as far as Opal and Starling City due to the extra power from the connection. The new barrage of voices came to her from 'Laker Baseball stadium', the 'Megaplex 3D Cinema' and 'Mayfair Carnival' all of whom were located in Opal City. She took a quick look at Clark and found a wry satisfied looking smile on his face. It appeared that he too was enjoying the extra hearing from their connection. They stayed connected for quite a while, each doing their best to catch as many voices as possible. It was easier said than done and as they dug deeper it became more and more difficult for them to make out the words being said. Both of them knew from experience how to extract the voices they wanted to hear from all magnified and muffled human voices that rammed into their ears. But in this case it was proving to be extra difficult due to the sheer volume of the noise coming from multiple cities. Kara was beginning to feel frustrated and she felt like asking Clark to give up trying as well when suddenly it felt like she heard a rather feeble sound that seemed like Winn.**

 **'Kal. wait. don't stop.' Clark, glanced at her with a puzzled expression on his face.**

 **'I don't hear anything Kara'. He was surprised to see a bright expression on her face.**

 **'Kal. I heard Winn'.**

 **'You sure... you did'. Clark replied enthusiastically.**

 **'Yes. keep concentrating. Come on'. She said really keen on urging him to continue.**

 **Clark began listening with renewed strength, he felt much more hopeful after Kara's intimation about hearing Winn. At first he was once again listening to the same old muffled voices but then he too heard the same noise. It was indeed Winn's voice, a very faint feeble sound like a scrambled radio transmission.**

 **'Did you hear it, Kal?**

 **Clark nodded in reply. 'You were right it's too feeble. It's too far'. He shook his head in anguish.**

 **'Let's remain focused on it. Listen harder'.**

 **Despite their persistence, it still took them a while before they finally managed to make sense of the words that Winn was speaking.**

 **They both listened intently once the voice struck their super ear drums in adequate volume.**

 **It appeared as if Winn was strolling outdoors since they heard a lot of rustling noises that come from tree leaves and the occasional eerie hoot of an Owl perched on a tree branch waiting for its next unfortunate victim.**

 **Winn seemed anxious and disturbed, he seemed to be trying to convince someone on the phone to make them agree to something.**

 **'Yea. I know but...**

 **'Yes. Yes. I have worked in IT'.**

 **'No. but. I can adjust in Coast City'.**

 **Upon hearing the words 'Coast City' they both exchanged meaningful stares. Now it would be a lot easier to track him down.**

 **They kept listening in for a little while longer and heard Winn continue with his desperate rant to land a new job.**

 **Kara tried her best to urge Clark to continue hearing, but the sheer effort was now finally beginning to take its toll on the both of them.**

 **Kara saw that Clark looked in discomfort as he pulled himself away from the connection and She realized that She too was feeling rather exhausted from all the effort.**

 **'Ah... how are you feeling Kara'. Clark said looking at her with perspiration dripping down from his hair and face.**

 **'Knocked out like you, Kal'. She replied slowly, letting out a little chuckle and giving him a playful punch on the shoulder as She spoke.**

 **Clark joined her in the laughter.**

 **'Well. thank goodness for John's help. We finally found out about him'. Clark put his arm around Kara as they both gave their worn out legs a much needed stretch by going back to Kara's apartment through a long flight of stairs.**

 **The building seemed a lot less hot and humid now that the power had finally been restored.**

 **Clark was so relieved to feel the soothing ice cool waves of Kara's split air conditioner that he actually flew up towards it and stuck his head into the outlet much to Kara's amusement.**

 **They both sat facing each other on the dining table casually sipping away at the chocolate milk shakes from 'Noonans' that Kara had just taken out from her fridge.**

 **'Nothing like a good dose of milk shake and cool air waves to rejuvenate the spirit'.**

 **Clark remarked taking a long sip from his straw after he spoke.**

 **He felt very glad to see Kara's relieved and smiling face looking back at him.**

 **It clearly looked as if the good news, her present comfy surroundings and the fact that Clark was sitting with her had left her in a relaxed and cheerful mode.**

 **'I can't believe we finally found him Clark'. Kara raised and stretched her arms with a beaming and relaxed look.**

 **'When I got your message I was harrowed just like you were Kara. And now it just feels so good to me when I realize that we can finally restore such a good and kind hearted soul back to where he belongs'.**

 **Kara nodded at him with a deeply emotional look on her face.**

 **'You know what, let's both go to Coast City tomorrow. And bring Winn back safe and sound'.**

 **Clark smiled placing his hand on hers for comfort.**

 **'No. No. Kal. You've done more than enough. And besides you need to go back to Lois'.**

 **Clark still had an uncertain and worried look on his face.**

 **'I'll be fine, really'. Kara smiled, patting Clark's face as she spoke.**

 **'Go. Be with Lois'.**

 **Clark looked at her with his nicest expression and then vanished into the skies in less than a second. Kara had a bittersweet expression on her face after seeing him leave. Those few moments she had spent being with Clark had temporarily taken away her loneliness but now she was once again feeling that big wide hole in her heart. But despite all the pain, she had an eagerness to find her best friend.**

 **'Hang in there Winn. wherever you are. I will find you I promise'.**

 **Winn had spent a few days recuperating in his new surroundings. It had been a rough few days for him due to the trauma of leaving his home town and then having being driven away by his mom to the streets. This seemed like a chance for him to start a new life in a new place where no one knew about his past. He felt a gr8 deal of appreciation for Oswald for being so kind and generous to give him a new home and rescuing him from his predicament. Kara and Clark had correctly assumed earlier that Winn was involved in an argument on his cellphone. When they heard him he was talking to an HR person who represented a potential employer company in the IT industry. Winn was trying his luck for a new job all by himself in the new city. Despite Oswald's noble intentions he wanted to make sure that he started a new job without any help. Earlier that day Winn had contacted some movers to transport his household stuff to Oswald's residence. He had insisted that the job be done quietly and in secrecy and was thankful that the movers had an old relationship in Oswald which made it a lot easier for him to enforce his terms. In the present moment he was in the dining room of the Oswald house perched on a cosy chair underneath the bright white gleam of the chandelier hanging above the dining table.**

 **'Winn. Please have a helping of these pot stickers. It's our household specialty'. said Mrs. Oswald smiling at Winn from across the table.**

 **'You won't be disappointed'. Oswald's daughter Alice added.**

 **'Ah, well. I always liked pot stickers so it's all really good'.**

 **'See I always bring in the perfect strays Laura'. Oswald said teasingly giving Winn a playful punch on the shoulder as he spoke.**

 **'Oh. For heaven's sake Oswald. Let the poor boy eat'. Laura said slapping the old man on his back with a smirk on her face.**

 **The time spent at dinner was really enjoyable and Winn realized that this was the finest meal he had had in quite a long time. Laura was an expert cook and she knew how to make a variety of delicious dishes. That was why at the end of the meal Winn had helped himself to a fine filling of Sardines, Pot stickers, sausages and deep fried chicken. And to the great amusement of his three hosts he also had a sharp burp after the meal.**

 **'Better start a healthy exercise regime young man. Otherwise you're bound to turn plump very soon'. Oswald remarked laughing loudly as he spoke. Winn only looked around sheepishly at the three and joined their laughter with a quiet chuckle.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**WINSLOW SCHOTT JR**_

 **By Musab Tanveer**

 **1**

 **National City, 10:30 PM it was raining cats and dogs, and Winn couldn't stand waiting in line to get his duffel bag of Pot Stickers. It was a long line of people and time was certainly not on Winn's side. He was nervous about waking up early since tomorrow he had to arrange a video conference for Ms. Grant the head of Catco World Wide Media where he worked.**

 **He could see the people in front of him getting impatient, 'Who the hell is serving up there', yelled someone right at the front. 'Why the hell is this hold up going on'. This was now erupting into a proper brawl right before the stroke of midnight and Winn was anxiously looking at his modest looking cell phone to see the dreaded minutes ticking away in slow painful motion just when a rough nudge from the back broke me away from my reverie. 'Are you insane buddy'. Winn glanced around in shock and to his utter dismay someone else had sneaked in front of him and gotten ahead in the line. The person shouting at him was a rather stern looking and impatient individual who was getting mad by the minute since Winn's present screw up.**

' **Hey, what's the idea? You need to get at the back of the line'. Winn said to the violating person trying to sound as assertive as he could above the surface of pure dread and sadness that he was feeling at that point in time.**

' **Yea. I got in front, what are you going to do about it'? said the guy in front of him with a glare on his face. Winn didn't know how to react, people were staring at him and he felt humiliation in its truest sense. He had to wrap the duffel bag in his coat as he slowly trudged along to the bus stand; the apartment building where he lived was a few blocks away usually he would walk the distance with Chester his small Labrador but in a hailstorm such as this he really couldn't risk it. So with one hand carrying the coat and the other holding a small sheet over his head he splashed his sneakers on the pavement and edged closer to the stand. The storm was terrifying in the hour before midnight. Thunderclaps with the noise of magnified church bells slammed Winn's ears with crushing force, and heavy sheets of rain belted his body like a tear away Jet plane. With a great deal of effort he finally reached the stand and peered ahead to see the timings written on the notice board. 'Grey Hound last arrival – 11:00 PM'!**

 **15 minutes past eleven he could finally make out distant yellow lights and the sound of a diesel engine getting louder with each passing second. To Winn's dismay the bus driver didn't seem interested in stopping for passengers and Winn almost had to walk onto the middle of the road and wave his arms to stop the giant vehicle in its tracks. The bus conductor attempted to spat at him after coming out but Winn was too livid to become subdued by his arrogant attitude.**

 **Winn was really relieved when he could see Starling Avenue up ahead in the distance, the ride had been bumpy and sluggish and it appeared as if the driver and his conductor were just going through the motions and cooling off before reaching their sweet homes. Winn noticed that there were only three people besides him on the bus all looking like zombies who couldn't wait to get off that freaky road machine. He had to jump off the bus since the driver didn't even let him breathe as his stop finally arrived. His sneakers splashed into a heavy water puddle on the road as he stepped down. With the merciless sheets of rain pelting his whole body he also had to endure the painful jolt of dirty water splashing onto him from the bottom to the top of his polo shirt. He sighed and let out a heavy grunt as he began to cross the road towards the entrance of Starling Avenue. He was really hoping that Chester had been fed properly by Ms. Vandervaal his neighbor who lived on the same floor as him. His feet made wet smudgy footprints on the 14** **th** **floor terrace as at last he finally made his way towards the apartment entrance. The view outside was really scary, the wind howled with fearful force and the sound of thunderclaps made Winn's heart sink deep in fear.**

' **Finally, he arrives'. Ms. Vandervaal was really looking pissed as he stood next to her entrance door, eagerly hoping to see a smiling expression on Chester's face as he took possession of him again. 'Ms. Vandervaal, erm…thanks….for taking care of Chester while I was away'. As usual, Winn's grumpy and obnoxious neighbor simply scowled and rudely handed over his good pal Chester. Winn felt relieved knowing that at least Vandervaal had fed him well while he was away. Winn could deduce that by the way Chester merrily trotted towards him with his tongue lovingly coming out of his mouth. Once Winn had taken a full heart fulfilling shower with soothing hot water, he raided the refrigerator and brought out two double chocolate Cornetto cones. 'All thanks to Kara', Winn whispered adoringly as he began to lick the top layer of the cone and watched Chester gobble up the whole thing in one big mouthful. It was nearly half past midnight when he finally curled into his bed with the small frame of Chester lying across the room close to his bed.**

' **You know boy, Ms. Grant has a huge conference session tomorrow with Hilary. 'Yea, tough call right'. Winn muttered as he marveled at the way the kind faced Labrador took in every word he said with raised ears and an intense eye contact with his face.**

' **Chester boy'. Winn said with a smile. 'No matter how tough it gets out there you are the one who helps me keep it together'. 'Um…but Uh no… not just you….You and this lovely lady…right here'. Winn could almost believe that Chester had a wide grin on his face as he saw Kara's angelic picture which he had just showed him.**

 **A sudden movement on Winn's bed jolted him out of deep sleep, he thrashed his hands left and right and sat bolt upright on the bed trying to peer open his heavy eyelids. Woof! Woof! It was Chester again. 'Aw', Winn groaned. 'Down boy, down'! the fat little playful thing had hurled himself on Winn and was trying with all his strength to have a go at Winn's face with his tongue. 'Ugh…alright, alright'! Winn trudged slowly towards the refrigerator and took out a bowl of dog food to heat for his hungry companion. 'In one hour I have to haul my broken body into Catco and setup a video conference for the scariest boss in the media industry, and yet you have no sympathy for me', Winn said pretending to be offended as he glared playfully at his cuddly old friend. 'Woof'! Chester replied, and tore towards his food bowl, tail wagging nineteen to the dozen as he began to devour the meat with great force. Winn could only shrug his shoulders as he peered at his mobile and counted the few minutes he had before he would have no choice but to dash into the shower and get ready for work. As he lay In bed, he conjured stray thoughts which all involved Kara Danvers. He had great adoration for her ever since she had joined Catco and she was the only one who always steadied him when he got jittery and afraid while at work. 'Ever since I found out about her powers, I have never had so much respect for anybody else', Winn spoke out loud looking at Chester and imagined that he had taken in every word that Winn had just said. As the time to get up for work got closer, Winn began to feel more and more nervous. He really couldn't understand why he would feel this way because he had been in this job for more than five years now, he had gone through the rough times when he was just a shy and rookie employee in the large Catco IT department but before the start of the work day he always used to get a nervous sensation in his body. It was like a reflex emotion to him because it always used to infest his heart no matter how much he tried to avoid it.**

 **Winn was slow in getting ready because he felt hesitant about being the center of attention in Ms. Grant's humongous office room where everyone would have their focus on the way he set up her live video conference. There was a sudden knock on Winn's door which startled him and made Chester bark in a friendly way. The little thing hung out his tongue and his tail began to wag vigorously soon after the bell had been rung. 'Whose there boy'? Winn said rhetorically, as he walked towards the entrance door. 'Kara'! Winn said rather taken aback as soon as he saw her standing in the doorway.**

 **She had a box of donuts in hand along with two large chocolate milkshakes. She was wearing casual dress pants and a full sleeve light blue colored shirt for the office day and her spectacles gleamed from the light sunshine that pierced through the curtains of Winn's apartment. 'Winn, you look dazed, what's going on'? Kara asked with her infectious laugh that almost always made Winn laugh along as well except for now when he was looking all forlorn and jittery.**

' **Kara…heh…it's nothing…really…I mean…em…well, seeing you so early…heh heh…it is kind of surprising…em…especially…ah…with the storm last night and…em… you don't usually step into my apartment like this early…' Winn stammered nervously doing the awkward scratching on the right side of his neck with the right hand as he failed to pretend with her that he was keeping it together. 'Winn'… she put a finger to her lips and then placed both her hands as gently as She could on his shoulders even though being Supergirl her grip still felt strong despite her extreme care not to hurt him.**

' **Kara, I know I'm overreacting. I just feel strange I mean I have you know…worked at Catco for five years and'**

' **Winn, just hear me out'… Kara said with a forceful look in her eyes, she took his arm and led him to the tiny furniture he had managed to gather in his suffocating dingy looking apartment.**

' **You've been doing amazingly well at Catco. Do you remember a few months ago when the company's main servers were infected by a nasty computer virus. No one had a clue how to solve that problem apart from you.' She said soothingly, holding one of my hands in both of hers. Winn didn't look her in the eye, he just stared into empty space but his heart felt relieved and the sick feeling in his stomach began to slowly fade away as he saw her smile at him with that kind face so many people all over the world admired as the one belonging to Supergirl.**

' **This is a cake walk Winn, just take a deep breath and walk with me into the place'. She said looking deep into Winn's eyes as she spoke the words.**

 **After hearing that Winn really couldn't smother the smile that was slowly starting to emerge in the corners of his mouth and then to his utter astonishment he found myself laughing along with Kara. It was like the synchronization you get to experience in a musical choir. Him laughing together with her was the most infectious voice that he could possibly ever listen to and it really surprised him because just a while ago he had been feeling sick to his stomach about the activity he was about to perform at Catco.**

 **The ride to the company building passed by in a whirl and Winn soon found himself sitting at his desk and gearing up for the live conference. Ms. Grant didn't wait around and before he knew it he was summoned into her office to get the live feed ready. During times like this he just wished that he would only do the regular stuff mentioned in his job description like setting up firewalls and handling antivirus updates because it was extremely terrifying to go up to the room of the CEO and set up a live feed with so many people having their eyes on him like that.**

 **Ms. Grant's office space was nearly more than half the size of the rest of the top floor of Catco plaza and everyone's desks were all sandwiched together within that place; so when Winn got up from his desk and walked towards Ms. Grant's office he began to feel rather self conscious about the fact that people were staring at him. He glanced around the square and struggled to find Kara's desk due to the panic he felt. He felt surprised that he couldn't see her anywhere when suddenly he almost bumped into her as she came towards him. 'Ah, Winn you forgot your tools'. She placed the network equipment in his hands and gave them a squeeze to comfort him.**

' **You're going to be fine buddy. Just go out there and be yourself'. She said in her usual soothing voice.**

' **I'm waiting'! Ms. Grant said in a sharp voice from across her room. 'Okay. I'm here Ms. Grant'. Winn said to her in a hurried voice and saw Kara give him a wide smile as she saw the sudden confidence and positivity appear on his face.**

' **You're about fifteen minutes late IT guy. Do you realize who I am supposed to speak to just Now.' Ms. Grant said looking at her watch with contempt and a smirk on her face. Now that Winn was in her room he didn't feel the terror he had been feeling a while ago and Kara's kind words and encouragement had given him the kind of boost to really give everything he had to the task at hand. 'I'm almost done, Ms. Grant', Winn said trying to sound as confident as he could when he spoke the words.**

' **Well for your job's sake I hope you are, in most circumstances I do not tolerate such mishaps'. Ms. Grant retorted in a vicious tone.**

' **There it's done, and we are good to go'. Winn felt a strong rush of ease and comfort in his heart as he spoke those words and saw the live feed begin on the giant Tv screens straight in front of Ms. Grant's sprawling office furniture. 'Good', she said as she gathered herself in her large black leather chair and prepared herself for the broadcast. 'Get Kara to bring me the special decaf from Noonan's with lunch'. She said and dismissed him with a wave of her hand as he gathered his tools to leave.**

 **The rest of the day went by uneventfully; Winn talked to Kara and James when he took his usual breaks during the work day. James was mostly talking about Clark and the way that he juggled his day job with the superhero acts that he performed as Superman. Winn hadn't met Clark personally but he always felt that Kara was the best superhero in the world. James tried to act like a male chauvinist whenever he discussed about Kara as Supergirl but both Winn and Kara knew deep down that he well and truly admired her and also carried deep feelings for her.**

 **At the end of each day, Winn was always the one who tried to leave work the soonest and that was because he didn't want anyone to see that unlike nearly everyone working in the company he could not afford a car of his own and had to take the bus back home each day so that he could save enough money before he got his next pay check. He kept this fact hidden even from Kara with whom he felt he could share almost anything in the whole world. Today was again no different as he yet again went through the same old drill. Luckily there was really nothing he was doing at work when the clock struck 5:15 PM which was his queue to get away from the place as quickly as possible. Winn didn't have to wait for his escape since no one was close to his work station at the time which was why he soon found myself at the exit gate of Catco plaza.**

 **Winn dashed to the bus stop and sat on the bench hoping no one coming out of Catco would see him there. It did feel strange to Winn; getting out of the office waiting for the next Grey Hound to take him to Starling Avenue because his usual routine had always been to walk through back alleys until he reached the main highway from where the buses used to ply on their everyday routes. As Winn sat waiting, he thought about how ridiculous it would seem if He told anybody why he did this on a routine basis. Why would anyone be stupid enough to walk such a long way when the subway was only a small distance from the CatCo building? In fact most employees in CatCo did not even have to use the subway because they all used to commute between work and home through their cars. The grey hound did thankfully arrive exactly at its appointed time. There were only a handful of people that got on board including Winn as the large locomotive screeched to a halt next to the bus stand. Winn went into a deep reverie as the bus finally began to lumber across the road, its engine giving out a deep rumbling sound as the driver began to harden his grip on the accelerator.**

 **He remembered the one time that Kara had caught him leaving work on foot. He was leaving early as usual that day and accidentally had to stop for a few minutes outside the exit door to attend a call from his landlord when Kara arrived on the scene and surprised him.**

' **Winn, what's going on'? why hasn't your brother arrived yet?**

' **Err…well, he's…he's a little late today Kara. Ha ha, you know office issues'.**

' **Well tell him to go home himself then because I'm taking you home today'.**

 **Winn couldn't excuse himself after that because once Kara made up her mind about something it was almost impossible to refuse her.**

 **She had a flashy looking black sedan which she always used to park on the ground floor each day she came to work. Winn had only been in her car a few times before because he had this negative feeling that other people in the company would perceive him as a wuss if they found out that Kara was always picking and dropping him home.**

 **Winn remembered how that day he had been unable to avoid blurting out the whole truth to Kara regarding the sneaky exit he made from Catco. There was really something amazing about Kara which shattered his defenses like a rock splintering a glass window. He believed it was the charisma in her personality that always made him confess the truth to her every time. He felt overwhelmed when he felt such an intense level of empathy and kindness from a woman who could literally bend steel with her bare hands and squat even the most Strongest human being on earth like a fly.**

 **Kara had listened intently to Winn's whole rant and had only nodded and said just a few words in between as she drove him in her car to his apartment. It was only when he had finished talking that she finally spoke to him .**

' **Winn, I'm really glad you confided in me with this'. She calmly said and patted his hand with hers. 'You could have told me sooner you know I would never expose you to anybody'.**

 **Later when they arrived at the entrance of Starling Avenue, Kara offered to give Winn a ride back home each day after work despite the fact that she lived quite a fair distance away.**

 **Winn had tried to refuse her but Kara wouldn't have no for an answer and since that day she had made it a point to always take him home in her car. She had even asked James to stop the other office staff from picking on him for not having his own transportation. However, despite all that Winn still used to try and not let Kara deal with the extra effort of dropping him home due to the large distance in between.**

' **Edgemont passengers exit the bus'. Winn was awakened from his reverie by the loud screaming of the bus conductor. The conductor seemed irritated when Winn did not buck up like the rest of the passengers after the announcement.**

' **Final Call', He was now giving Winn a stern look as he spoke those threatening words. Winn scampered from the bus in panic nearly falling onto the road with his back pack as the bus conductor gave him a final disdainful look and went inside before the automatic doors of the bus were finally closed. 'Whew, that was a close one'. Winn quietly spoke to myself as he walked back to collect Chester from Ms. Vanderwaal. After he had rapped on the door twice, Ms. Vanderwaal's son opened the door. 'Hey, Mike'. Winn said as a short petite looking boy with wavy golden hair looked at him with a slight grin on his face.**

' **Hey Winn, he replied giving him a high five as he spoke. Unlike his mother, Mike was a really sweet kid. He looked after Chester as much as he could in Winn's absence and this was the main reason why he was always so comfortable giving away Chester to the Vanderwaal household. Mike had been a real help to Winn ever since he had fixed him his play station a few years ago.**

 **Mike had gotten it on his 14** **th** **birthday and to his real bad luck, some devious kids from his class broke the gadget while they fooled around playing video games in his house. Winn was walking down from his apartment onto the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon when he had heard the loud muffled sobs coming from his apartment coupled with a harsh tirade of abuses that were coming from Ms. Vanderwaal's mouth. He had always kept a mild mannered approach with Ms. Vanderwaal but this time he gave her a piece of his mind and told her to stop blaming the poor kid.**

' **Okay. That's enough Ms. Vanderwaal. Accidents happen! Please don't go after the kid like that'. Winn had said. Ms. Vanderwaal would normally have retorted with some harsh remark to anyone's outburst but this time she surprisingly felt ashamed about what she had just done. However, it was just too much for her to speak a gentle word and soothe her son's feelings so she gave both Mike and Winn a cold hard stare before finally walking away into her room and closing the door behind her. Later when Mike had calmed himself down Winn had asked Mike to show him the playstation that was damaged. Winn promised the little boy that he would get the thing fixed as fast as he could and kept his word after saying so.**

 **It was because of this episode that Mike had become so sweet and helpful towards Winn.**

 **Coming back to the present moment Mike rubbed Chester's neck with a loving hand before handing him over to Winn.**

' **Winn do feed him quickly, I gave him as much as I could but you know how difficult my mother can be'. Winn eyed and grinned at him before he turned his head towards his apartment with Chester trotting merrily at his heels.**

' **Oh, and Winn'. He spun around again to see Mike running towards him waving an envelope with his hand.**

' **The courier asked to give you this when you returned'.**

 **Winn began to scratch the envelope as soon as he received it feeling rather surprised because no one had sent him snail mail in a rather long time. Standing in the doorway of the Vanderwaal's house, he felt a sudden pang of shock as he read the letter's headline written in large bold letters:**

 **NOTICE OF REVOCATION FOR MR. WINSLOW SCHOTT JR**

 **For a few seconds Winn just stood and stared in shock at the big fat headline that was now piercing his soul with a dozen spades.**

' **Winn, sit here'. Mike eyed him with a concerned look on his face as Winn stood motionless and in a state of deep shock. Winn sank onto the big and wide white colored sofa of Ms. Vandervaal's overly decorated living room with his eyes rolling continuously in his face in shock and bewilderment. Chester realized the tension in the air and slowly trotted up to Winn and placed his furry little head on his master's lap.**

' **Here's some water'. Mike had gone to the fridge in the meantime to get some fluid to help Winn to relax. 'Thank you, buddy'. Winn replied softly with a long sigh before placing the letter onto the table and scratching his head in irritation. Mike kept sitting close to his friend without saying a word; he felt upset seeing Winn act like this and what made him feel worse was the fact that he couldn't really say or do anything to make him feel better. After spending some time on the couch with a great deal of anxiety all over his face, Winn finally got up to leave the Vandervaal residence. He turned around to face Mike just as he was about to step outside the house. 'Mike'. He said with a rather depressed and concerned tone in his voice. 'What is it Winn? What's going on buddy? Why are you suddenly feeling like the sky fell over you man? Mike said eyeing his friend sharply and with genuine concern in his voice.**

 **Winn didn't reply before revealing a saddened look on his face.**

' **Mike, I'm afraid I have to leave the city'.**

' **What! Why?**

' **It's kind of hard to say. You know. Ah… personal issues'. Mike noticed that Winn was nervously scratching his head as he spoke the words.**

' **Please tell Kara that I went out of the city for a job interview. I don't want her to worry about me'.**

' **Winn at least fill me in on what's been going on. You're really starting to scare me man', said a rather frazzled looking Mike who was now really starting to feel afraid of the prevailing situation.**

' **Trust me dude. I'll be back as soon as I can'. Winn replied as he gently squeezed Mike's shoulder and ruffled his wavy golden hair.**

' **Please stay strong and take care of this little fella for me'. Winn gently shook Chester's fluffy brown hair as he spoke.**

' **Do call me as soon as you can buddy'. Winn nodded in reply.**

 **2**

 **Kara was gently rinsing her teeth to make sure that she didn't break her toothbrush due to her incredible strength. As she moved the tiny stick to and fro she began to remember the way her mother Alura had taught her to brush teeth back on Krypton. Being so young she wasn't even tall enough to see herself properly above the wash basin but even though it did bother her that she couldn't see herself, the toothbrush exercise was still done perfectly. She remembered how Alura used to smile at her as the tiny robot 'Acerex' used his mechanical arm to rinse Kara's tiny little teeth with the shiny little smoothly shaped toothbrush.**

 **Kara was still deep in thought even after she had finished brushing her teeth and it wasn't until her elder sister Alex shook both her shoulders that she finally came out of her trance.**

' **Kara were you lost somewhere'. Alex remarked as she looked deep into her sister's eyes with a confused look on her face.**

' **I don't know I guess my memory was triggered as I was brushing my teeth', Kara said shaking her head and laughing as she looked back at her sister.**

' **Well get your head out of the clouds Miss goof ball, you just got a call from work while you were day dreaming in here'. Alex said giving Kara a friendly glare as she spoke the words.**

 **Kara immediately became shocked as Alex told her that it was Cat Grant herself who had called her just a while ago. She dashed out of the washroom and grabbed her mobile from her dresser to call back Ms. Grant. Before she made the call she was even more alarmed to find out that Cat Grant had already called her twice within the space of ten minutes.**

' **Y…Yes Ms. Grant'.**

' **Keerah, it's almost time to reach the office and you just happened to ignore my calls twice before that hot head sister of yours snapped at me in an annoyingly harsh tone, saying that I should lower my tone with her'.**

' **Well…y..yes Ms. Grant I was not in my room so my sister picked up for me, her room is at a fair distance from my own so it takes her some time to reach mine I guess'. Kara laughed nervously in between her sentences while she was speaking.**

' **Okay. Well even though your explanation is wayward like usual, I am faced with a more pressing issue at the present time'. Cat retorted in a mildly sharp tone.**

 **After a brief pause on the line she continued, 'I haven't seen Wit arrive at work yet Keerah, where is my IT guy when I need to set up a high profile interview with Donald Trump'.**

' **Ah…well Ms. Grant no worries at all, I'm sure he's already rushing to work as we speak'.**

' **Well, he better hurry before I snap my fingers and give HR the instruction to find me a new tech guy'.**

' **I am right on it Ms. Grant'.**

' **Um…well… hurry up'.**

 **Kara felt a bit shocked after her conversation ended with Ms. Grant and stood in silence close to her bed side table before moving towards her wardrobe cupboard to take out her dress for the work day.**

' **Kara what did Cat say to you on the phone'?**

' **Well… she was definitely not happy about what you told her to do'. Kara gave out a nervous laugh as she spoke the words.**

' **I wasn't talking about what she said to me Kara'. Alex replied smartly with her usual wry smile and glaring eyes, the kind of look Kara was all too familiar with whenever Alex had discovered she was nervous about something.**

 **Kara wasn't surprised when she found herself revealing her true feelings to her big sister the moment after Alex spoke those words. The sister bond between them was just too deep and strong.**

' **I'm disturbed because Cat just told me over the phone that Winn hadn't showed up for work yet Alex. It's not like him to not show up for work when Ms. Grant has a video conference planned with presidential candidates. Just yesterday, she had him set up a video conference with Hilary and today she was supposed to have a special Q &A with Donald Trump'. **

' **I'm surprised she hasn't grilled the old gun Bernie Sanders yet'. Alex laughed sharply and made Kara smile and chuckle in return.**

' **Just call him up and calm his nerves Kara. I'm sure he'd be at his apartment right now half dressed and confused about whether to run from the challenge or face it'.**

 **Kara gave out a little sigh as she picked up her phone and called Winn. She waited patiently hoping that Winn would eventually pick up and say 'hello' like he normally did when she called but there was no response. Now Kara was even more worried, she called both James and Lucy but neither one had spoken to Winn that day.**

' **It is rather strange'. James admitted when Kara told him about the issue.**

' **He may have had the butterflies Kara but he usually does show up for work later after you've talked to him', James continued.**

' **I'm really starting to worry now James. I mean it's not just Winn but now I also have to show up late for work and now whose going to set up Ms. Grant's conference if he isn't there'.**

 **Kara muttered anxiously.**

' **Now…now… just don't worry about Cat alright, me and Lucy will deal with her today. You just go to Winn's apartment and find out what's going on'. James replied to her reassuringly.**

' **Thank you James. You're always such a big help to me. I don't know what I'd do without you'.**

' **Nah don't mention it Kara. Just let me know what you find out alright'. James said lighting chewing up a bite of his favorite pepperoni before he hung up.**

 **After that Kara called Winn's landline phone and then called his cell phone twice but there was no response. Now Kara was feeling even more worried than before, she quickly informed Alex that She was heading to Winn's apartment to check on him.**

 **Alex told her to calm down. 'I'm sure he's holed up at his apartment Kara and too anxious to talk to anyone about his dilemma. Setting up two live feeds back to back is probably just too much for a sensitive guy like him'. 'Alex I still have to find out what's wrong. Please let Ms. Grant know I'm off to meet Winn in case she calls again'. Kara replied as she took her car keys from the key chain holder and walked out of her apartment.**

 **Kara had a bad feeling in her heart the whole time as she drove from her apartment to Winn's. The distance was hardly a few miles so it wasn't long before she found herself parking her silver black sedan in the parking lot of Starling Avenue. She was much quicker than usual in walking out of the elevator after it had reached the 14** **th** **floor and was seriously surprised and shocked when she saw that Winn's apartment was locked and bolted from the outside. She gave a slight twitch to her glasses, which was an act that she usually did when she was feeling really nervous and once again checked her phone to see whether Winn had finally called her back or left a text. However, to her dismay all she could see were two missed calls and an angry text from Cat Grant asking her to call back immediately.**

' **I just can't find any peace in life due to that woman'. Kara said out loud with a sigh and a troubled and exasperated expression on her face.**

 **Cat picked up at the other end after just one beep.**

' **Keerah! I've been trying to reach you since the past 45 minutes. What the hell is going on with that stupid little tech freak I made such a mistake to hire. I have no time to deal with such foolishness and irresponsibility. When you find him tell him that he's fi…**

' **Miss Grant'! Kara said in a rather firm tone so that she could interrupt Cat's angry tirade successfully.**

' **I think something bad has happened to Winn. Please don't do anything rash right now. Give him a chance. I'm sure there's a solid explanation for all this'.**

' **Well…ah.. well okay… but if you want to let that scrawny little pet friend of yours walk through my doors again. You better have a jolly good explanation for me Keerah. I've had to endure more than half an hour of pure dread and perspiration because I was supposed to go live this morning and have a substantial amount of verbal judo with a certain presidential candidate'.**

' **I truly understand that Ms. Grant and I am really sorry. I will… I will find Winn as soon as I can and have him back at the office'. All Kara heard in reply was a click at the other end as Cat Grant hung up the phone. Kara looked at her own phone with a slight smirk and set her sight on the Vanderwaal's apartment'. I hope that mean lady is away from the apartment', Kara thought to herself as she tried to press the bell button into the socket due to her anxiety.**

 **She only had to wait for a few short minutes much to her relief, before the door opened and a petite looking boy of average height and wavy golden hair peered outside at her.**

' **Hi, Mike'. Kara said smiling and greeting the little boy cheerfully.**

 **Mike returned the greeting to her politely although Kara noticed that he looked slightly off and kind of jittery to her after showing himself. Coming straight to the point Kara asked him about Winn.**

' **He just told me to inform you that he had gone outside the city for a job search'. Mike said in a jittery voice just as Chester came running towards the both of them barking loudly after he saw Kara standing in the doorway. He was feeling rather forlorn since Winn had left him with Mike so seeing Kara was an extremely pleasing sight to the chubby little Labrador. After Winn, she was his most beloved person in the world.**

' **What, a job search?' Kara remarked with a puzzled expression on her face as she lovingly scratched Chester's head.**

 **Mike nodded at her, a worried expression quite visible on his face.**

' **I'm feeling worried since he left'. Mike admitted in an anxious tone. 'He looked really worried since he saw the letter I gave him'.**

' **Which letter was that?' Kara asked still feeling puzzled by the disturbing situation at hand.**

' **It was given to me by the mailman this morning. Winn isn't home during the morning on weekdays so the mailman delivers his snail mail to us'.**

' **So you just handed it to him and he didn't tell you what it said'.**

 **Mike shook his head in disappointment. 'I wish I knew more Miss Kara'.**

 **Kara smiled sympathetically at the little boy. Being an only child she understood how much he looked up to Winn as a big brother and a friend. It must have been excruciating for him to know that Winn had departed like that without letting him know when he would be back again. 'Don't worry sweet heart. I will find out where he's gone and we will both see him again very soon, I promise'. She said patting and giving a gentle tap on the right side of his face. Mike said nothing and just nodded at her with a solemn look on his small face.**

 **Kara decided to rest herself for a while when Mike informed her that Mrs. Vandervaal was away at work and wouldn't be home till the end of the day. She took a glass of water patting Chester's head all the while that she drank. She could tell that Mike was really grateful for the company and personally felt sorry for the poor kid who as Winn had informed her earlier had been bullied regularly at school and had to deal with the emotional scars of a painful separation between his parents at such a young age. Ever since she had stood up for him at school one day his class mates had stopped picking on him because they knew that Supergirl had his back but still no one really gave him much attention the entire time he was at school.**

 **That's why Kara had decided to take this opportunity to spend time with Mike while she calmed her nerves before asking Mike to give her the phone number of the post man who delivered Winn's snail mail. She tried but she couldn't connect with the post man on his cell phone number so she noted the address of the post office branch where he worked and left the building after giving Mike a tight bear hug and asking him to take care of himself and Chester.**

' **Please let me know if you find anything Miss Kara'.**

' **I will certainly let you know honey. Please stay safe and happy for me okay.' Kara said shaking her fingers and smiling at him before she got into her car and left the building.**

 **She got a call from James Olsen just after she pulled out from the parking lot of Starling Avenue.**

 **However, she decided to call him back later and left him a one line message to mention just that. She felt relieved that Ms. Grant had not called her the entire time that she had been in the Vandervaal house with Mike. She felt a lot of gratitude for James for backing her up in the middle of this difficult situation where no one had any idea where Winn had suddenly disappeared. The distance between Starling and the post office branch wasn't that long and that's why Kara found herself parking her car near its entrance gate in only a short space of time. The post office building looked shabby and in dire need of a new coat of paint, the path leading to the main office block appeared in need of proper housekeeping and maintenance since it was lined with flowers that looked half dead in their pots and also the floor was quite clearly unsafe for pedestrians to walk since it had some large cracks in between for anyone who walked through it from the entrance gate to the entrance door of the office block.**

 **Kara could only see a wide open space when she went inside. There was no furniture visible over there and no rooms for desk job employees either. She kept walking for a little while feeling a bit dazed by the fact that she couldn't see anything apart from the floor and the ceiling inside the block. However, she finally found a large desk way up ahead as she used her X-ray vision to scan the entire area. 'What kind of fool did these people hire for interior design', she thought to herself as she began to walk briskly towards the desk after spotting it.**

 **She didn't waste much time and soon found herself looking at a few wooden chairs and a large table close to the desk that she had spotted earlier. A big burly man was sitting behind the desk reading the morning paper as he smoked a cigar letting out thick puffs of air as he exhaled from his lungs. The guy was short, bald and chubby with an ill kept beard and not so tidy overalls. Kara knew the moment he saw him that he wouldn't be of much help unless she gave him some money for a favor.**

' **Yea'? The guy asked in a sharp tone glaring at Kara as he let out the words.**

' **I'm… ah looking for Tibias cage, ah… the post man who delivers mail to Starling Avenue'.**

 **Kara replied pressing her glasses to her face as she spoke.**

 **The guy behind the desk kept glaring at her quizzically until he finally spoke again.**

' **Tibias cage?' no.. never heard of him'. He replied with a look of disdain on his chubby looking face.**

' **But I know he comes over there early morning. I've seen him myself a number of times'. Kara was feeling very agitated by the drab and lifeless atmosphere and the lackluster feedback that she was getting from that guy.**

' **Listen here lady. I've got work to do alright'. The guy retorted impatiently. 'Just retrace your steps and go back where you came from'.**

 **Kara was now getting livid due to this serious lack of cooperation and for an instant she almost lost her patience wanting to punish the crooked guy with her super strength. However, she was able to catch herself in time and avoid inflicting damage upon herself due to recklessness. So instead of blowing the lights out of the guy in front of her she only gave him a steely glare instead. 'Well… thanks for nothing', she remarked trying to sound as angry as possible. The guy behind the counter just shrugged his shoulders and made a face at her enjoying the fact that he had offended her.**

 **Kara walked away a few paces from where the guy was sitting and then used her 'super hearing' ability to try and find out if anyone else was present in the office block that day. 'Surely there must be someone out there right now. Maybe I'll even get to hear someone say Tibias cage out loud'. Kara thought to herself as she removed all other thoughts from her mind and forced it to focus only on the continuously overlapping sounds that were now colliding furiously onto her ear drums. With the passage of time, Kara had successfully learnt how to only focus on those noises which she needed to hear and block out everything else that came along with them. It did not take her long to hear noises coming from just a little distance away within the same office block. It was quite a banter that appeared to be taking place between a group of people who were very close by.**

 **Having heard them talk, Kara wasted no time and moved into the direction from which the voices were coming from. It was a long passage which kept getting lengthier as she walked towards the right side of the large desk of the arrogant person with whom she had just had an unhelpful conversation. The passage was just as drab and empty as the rest of the office block she had just been through. Kara had a long smirk on her face when she saw dirt and dust scattered all across the floor tiles, the peeling paint on the side walls and the poor condition of the doors to the office rooms lined up in single file across the area. After walking or rather 'crawling like a snail' (from a kryptonian's point of view) Kara found herself gazing at a door that was much broader in size than the ones she had seen on her way through the passage. On the center of the room the word 'Canteen' was written in large block letters, and Kara could hear muffled voices coming from inside which were of course much clearer this time since she was now just inches away from them. She didn't hesitate and rapped at the door forcefully. The door opened up in no time and a large burly man stood in the doorway glaring at her.**

 **Yeah? He said in a sharp tone.**

' **I want to see Tibias Cage right now'. Kara replied impatiently. She was now feeling extremely irritated by this deplorable and shabby looking place and it's twisted, mean and unhelpful inhabitants.**

' **Tibias'? Kara was now on the verge of a major rage blackout since this guy was also fooling around with her like the one before him. He had a playful and sly expression on his face which clearly indicated that he wished to inflict further harassment.**

' **Tell me where he is right now'! Kara had literally shaken up the entire room with a violent high pitched shriek. She glared at the man and raised her arm as if about to punch right in the center of his sly nasty looking face.**

' **Cut it out Ed ya big douche'. said someone sitting at the very end of the room. The person who had spoken got up from his seat and walked up to where they were standing.**

' **This is he'. The other guy said in a hushed tone apparently unimpressed by the sudden and forced conversation with Kara.**

' **You deliver mail to Starling Avenue'. Kara jumped straight to the point.**

' **Yes so'. Tibias folded his arms as he spoke the words.**

' **Well, my friend Winn he lives on the fourth floor. He got a mail from someone yesterday. I want to know who it was from'.**

' **What's in it for me princess? I don't give away privileged information. Unless of course ah…' Ed and the other people behind him laughed in unison as Tibias made a face at them with a dirty look in his eye. Kara felt a rush of anger boiling inside her when she saw the low lives laughing foolishly in front of her. But she wisely restrained herself from making a mistake that she would seriously regret. She could have easily skinned everyone of them alive in less than a second if she had used her brute strength but she knew that doing so would force her to reveal her secret despite the fact that it could bring the ill mannered Tibias to his senses. So instead Kara channeled her anger and used her intelligence to find a way out of the dilemma.**

' **We'll see how much you laugh when you're out in the police torture cell where they beat the hell out of you until you reveal the name of the person that sent the letter'.**

 **Tibias looked a bit nervous after hearing that even though he tried his best not to show it.**

' **What nonsense is this? Are you threatening me lady? His tone was harsh and menacing as he spoke. However, Kara did not flinch for even a fraction of a second.**

' **Well, Mr. bananas I won't even need to say a single word to you when the police find out that you've been hiding information that is necessary to help locate a missing person'. Kara said forcefully.**

' **Winn has been missing from home since last evening'. Kara continued after seeing the surprised and dubious expression quite apparent on Tibias' face. 'His disappearance is directly linked to the letter that you delivered to him. I need to know from where you took that letter Tibias'.**

 **Everyone in the room had now gone silent and they were all looking at Tibias to see when he would respond to Kara. 'It was that guy Winn's landlord, Francis Malone. He was the one who handed me that letter'. Tibias finally said after prancing around for quite some time.**

 **Kara heaved a sigh of relief after Tibias gave her Malone's address. She did not even say good bye before leaving because she had been through a great deal of turmoil in that disgusting Post Office branch and she could not wait to move away from the place as quickly as she could. After leaving the building she quickly started the car and began to drive as fast as she could to find out what Malone had sent Winn. While she was driving she got a call from Alex asking her what was happening. Kara informed her sister how she had to grind the postman Tibias for the information on Winn and that she was heading out towards Malone's residence to find out exactly what was so shocking in his letter that had made him run off from home like that. 'I hope you find what you're looking for Kara. It's a real shock to find this out about Winn especially since he's joined the DEO full time and been such a wonderful asset to the team'. Alex had commented before she and Kara hung up their phones on either end.**

 **Kara reached the place soon after ending the call from Alex. She got out from the car and used the automatic system in her car keys to lock the doors and bolt all the windows before proceeding towards the entrance door of Malone's residence. She had only taken a few steps from her car when she saw Ms. Grant's incoming call.**

' **Yes Ms. Grant'. She said in a hushed tone feeling surprised at her nervousness.**

' **Keerah where on God's earth have you been this whole day'. Kara felt alarmed when she heard this. She remembered that she had already asked James earlier to inform Siobhan to cover for her while she was looking for Winn.**

' **Miss Grant… I had told James…' she was cut off in mid sentence.**

' **Keerah… is James my personal assistant or are you'? Kara tried her best to calm Cat Grant down when she found out to her utter dismay that no one had gone to Ms. Grant's room to serve lunch that day and that she had had to wait for more than half an hour for one of her IT guys to set up the live feed for the video discussion with Donald Trump.**

' **Miss Grant, I am so sorry for all this trouble. I will make sure that this doesn't happen again'.**

 **However, Cat was still not at all satisfied and gave some very harsh remarks to Kara before finally hanging up. Kara let out a heavy sigh, after having to go through so much criticism. She felt really angry at James for letting her down like that, especially after knowing how important it was for her to take a break from the office that day and find out about Winn. However, she knew quite well that now was not the time to blame herself or worry about Cat Grant. She had finally made it to the place she wanted to be at and so it was finally time for her to get some answers.**

 **The place where Kara parked her black sedan was a clean parking lot outside of the large house where Malone lived. As Kara walked up to a large broad black colored entrance gate the top of which was fenced with barbed wire with a small white video camera situated at the top right corner of the side wall, she noticed how different this locality was from the ramshackle post office she had just been in. This area was like the upper east side of National City where some of the most wealthy and influential people in the states had their residences. 'This guy must be extremely rich'. Kara thought to herself as she pressed her index finger on the small red bell button. No one opened the door as she stood waiting for someone to arrive so she had to ring the bell twice more before she finally heard someone give a shout from inside. 'Whose there'? the voice was female and rather unpleasant and annoyed as Kara deduced from the tone. It was followed by a loud volley of barking by a supposedly large and angry dog judging by the high and deep pitch of the noise.**

' **My name is Kara Danvers. I'm here to meet Mr. Malone'. Kara replied trying to be as firm and confident as possible after being rather taken aback by such a harsh and unpleasant welcome. There was silence for a few minutes but just as Kara began to wonder that the woman inside had deliberately ignored her; the front door was pulled open and a broad black woman of average height stood at the front door looking at Kara with a mean look on her face. She had short neatly trimmed jet black hair, she wore a light black colored t-shirt with a large image of Nicky Minaj drawn at the center of it and plain white trousers. She also wore a silver necklace and had a small tattoo of a cougar on her left wrist. The large black and white bull dog who had barked after her was looking at Kara with an unwelcoming stare and continuously revealing his sharp pointed teeth as he continued to stare at her.**

' **Why, you looking for Malone huh'? the woman drawled in her black American accent.**

' **Well, I'm here because of my friend Winn'.**

' **Winn, what's a Winn...a baseball Win? The woman laughed sarcastically making the bull dog bark loudly as he continued to glare away at Kara.**

' **Winn is my friend. He's a tenant of Mr. Malone and…' Kara's sentence was cut short just as She was about to complete it.**

' **And this concerns me why?' the woman asked as she folded her arms and the expression on her face turned from sarcastic amusement to a mean looking frown.**

' **Well it concerns you absolutely because my friend got a letter from Malone yesterday evening and he's been missing since then. So unless you want the police to know that you're not cooperating in a missing person's investigation, you better take me to Malone and let me ask him some questions'. Kara was fuming and full of rage because the woman had just made her lose the end of all her patience especially after all the pain she had been through ever since she had woken up that day.**

 **The woman rolled her eyes and scowled at Kara in frustration. 'Malone! Hey, Malone! Come here right now and stop washing that bloody old dog for a minute'. The woman cried.**

 **Kara pressed her glasses onto her eyes with her right hand upon hearing the loud voice of the woman; a thing she usually did when she was feeling anxious due to some unpleasant occurrence. The woman waited with the bull dog at her heels for a few moments along with Kara. She had her hands on her hips and was chewing her gum impatiently, her scorn getting more and more apparent as she waited for Malone to show up. The woman was about to leave the entrance gate in fury and exasperation when finally they heard footsteps and muffled barking a short distance away from where they stood. Kara could make out the distant frame of a tall broad shouldered man walking vigorously towards them with a big hairy looking Cocker Spaniel at his heels. As they drew closer, Kara discovered that the man was close to middle age. He wore a big black colored cowboy hat and had a glowing clean shaven and chiseled face. There was a strong pleasant smell of cologne swirling into the air from his body. He wore a light green open neck polo shirt with light black faded jeans and a good looking pair of dark shades which he removed from his eyes after he had finished walking up to Kara and the woman with her bull dog. Kara was half expecting the two dogs to bark and snap their teeth at each other but surprisingly to her they were both very docile and quiet when they were standing just a few feet away from other.**

' **This woman here's been getting on nerves since the past half an hour'. The black lady exclaimed moving her hands in the air to express her agitation. Malone didn't happen to take any notice of her reaction; he smiled, shook hands with Kara and introduced himself to her.**

' **My name is Vincent Malone. Is there something I can help you with?' he said smiling all the while as he spoke. The woman shook her head once more and left with the now rather docile and friendly looking bull dog trotting slowly behind her heels.**

' **Sorry about Cassandra there. She's been in a foul mood lately because of our dad'. Malone said in a friendly voice.**

' **That explains the stern spiteful attitude then'. Kara enjoyed the playfulness after all the rough behavior she had been forced to bear from the people whom she had met that day.**

 **Malone winked and had a wry smile on his face after hearing Kara's response.**

' **I'm here for my friend Winn'. Kara decided to get straight to the point because she felt that she wouldn't be able to resist Malone's alluring boyish charm if she continued with the small talk any further. Malone was very friendly and receptive to Kara's story which she told him as precisely and shortly as she could. When she had finished talking, he looked apologetically at her as he gave her the explanation she had been so eager to receive ever since finding out that Winn had disappeared.**

' **My dad is the one who owns that apartment'. Malone explained. 'He's been sending notices to your friend since the past few months regarding his outstanding rent payments but a lot of that outstanding amount was still due despite frequent reminders'.**

' **And so your dad decided to send Winn a final notice'. Kara scoffed in anger and disappointment shaking her head.**

' **I'm really sorry. I don't have much sway with my dad. I tried to reason with him and asked him to give your friend a chance. Honestly, I've never thrown out any tenant as per my own decision but this apartment was not in my ownership otherwise I…' Kara stopped Malone from continuing with the blabber because she'd gotten the information she needed and didn't like to see a friendly looking person like him embarrassing himself in front of her for something he hadn't done.**

' **It's okay Mr. Malone. Thank you for your time'. Kara said smiling at the friendly looking guy in front of her.**

' **Please stay for a while at least and have some wine and supper with us'. Malone asked her courteously.**

' **No thank you. I really must be going and do what I can to locate my friend'. Kara replied.**

 **Malone gave her his best wishes and gave her his contact number in case she needed anything else from him.**

' **Do let me know how it turns out'. Malone called out to her, scratching the head of his lovely dog as he spoke.**

' **I will. Thank you so much again for your help'. Kara smiled and waved back at him as she gunned the engine. Kara's next stop was Lucy and James' apartment which was quite a fair distance away from Malone's residency and right on the edge of National City. Not only was she eager to update him and Lucy about the news she had received about Winn but she had also been meaning to find out why James hadn't backed her up like he would normally do. In her heart she had a sinking feeling that something bad must have happened to James as well. 'I don't think that I've ever witnessed a day as bad as this one during all the time I've been here on this planet'. Kara thought to herself as she continued to drive towards her destination.**

 **It wasn't long before Kara was standing outside Lucy and James' apartment rapping sharply at the entrance door. The apartment was on the tenth floor of the fifteen story building, it was right in the middle of the floor and just a few paces from the elevator and the stairs. The entrance door was light pink in color and was covered from the left and right corners with artificial grass. A money plant was hanging a fair distance from the ground at the right side edge of the entrance door. There was also a nice and well thought out arrangement of a few flower pots that were lined up neatly together in a horizontal position at each side of the entrance. Each pot contained a couple of flowers with colors different from the next. Kara rapped forcefully on the door, she was obviously more than eager to get inside and ask James the reason why he hadn't followed up with Ms. Grant in her absence and also share the information she had received regarding Winn. Much to her relief, she only had to wait for a few seconds before the door was swung open and she could see a rather exhausted looking Lucy Lane standing in the doorway. She wore a white colored flannel shirt and light black sweat pants, her trimmed and shiny jet black hair was uncombed and some beads of sweat could be vividly seen trickling down from her forehead.**

' **Hi, Kara'. She smiled, apparently looking relieved that someone had finally come to meet her. 'Lucy you look really tired. What's going on?' Kara said feeling more anxious than before after seeing Lucy in such a state.**

' **Please come inside'. Lucy replied curtly, gesturing her with a swift motion of her right hand. Now that Kara was away from the prying eyes of strangers she removed her glasses and put them on a side table in the living room. Without glasses, she looked more like Supergirl rather than Kara Danvers. Lucy led the way to her spacious, spotless and icy cool bedroom. James could be seen lying in a straight posture on the bed, his left arm covering his eyes and forehead as cool wisps of air swirled around the length and breadth of the room. Kara was alarmed to see that there was a large bandage on James' right shoulder. The bandage looked rather prominent especially since James was wearing a light weight basketball jersey that totally exposed his shoulders and abs to any on looker who would enter the room.**

 **Kara was about to speak out loud in shock when Lucy restrained her from doing so just in time. She put a finger to her lips and gently tip toed towards James, giving his left side shoulder a gentle shake so that he would wake up without reacting in shock.**

' **James, Kara has come to see you'. Lucy whispered in his ear as she continued to gently shake his left side shoulder in order to wake him up. James was up in a short while, blinking his eyes as the sharp rays of the sun streaming from the ceiling windows pierced through his wide open eyes. 'Kara'. He looked surprised and confused to see her standing up close to him unannounced. 'James what happened to you?'. Kara strode closer to the bed with a pained expression on her face.**

' **He was outside of Catco for some errand during work hours'. Lucy started to explain. 'And then I was jumped by two burly guys in the little lane beside the Catco plaza which is usually always empty'. James said joining into the conversation eagerly. Kara could see a sudden surge of pain engulf James' face when he exerted some pressure on the injured shoulder so that he could sit up straight to talk. 'Oh no. how could this happen? Why is everything going wrong? Everything…' Kara cried out in anguish, she really couldn't take such a load of anguish in a single day. First it was Winn who had shockingly disappeared without telling anyone where he was going or when he would be back and then there was the episode at the post office, her blow out with Cat and now poor James was lying in bed with a bruised shoulder. It clearly was a lot to take for her. James began to soothe her with comforting words as Lucy went to get some water for Kara to calm her nerves. 'Please have hope Kara. I'm sure that we will find a way to hear from Winn very soon'.**

' **I just hope that he's doing alright James. I couldn't live with myself if he was in trouble and I couldn't save him'. Kara said in a broken voice.**

' **Hey… hey… Kara… it's ok… it's ok'. I'm sure wherever he is he's looking out for himself. Our Winn is tenacious. He'll look out for himself'. James tried reassuring Kara, giving her a big wide smile to cheer her up as he spoke.**

 **3**

 **Winn felt extremely cold due to the intense air conditioning in the large bus. He was hoping there was a room so that he could change into some warmer clothing for the six hour journey to Opal city. He hadn't spent much time in packing for the trip to his mother's house due to the fear of losing his 6 o' clock bus. Winn wasn't looking forward to the trip ahead at all because his mom was never happy to see him, strange as it was. 'I just hope she hasn't gotten another of her boyfriends in the house'. Winn thought with worry as he recalled the many occasions where he had almost been beaten to a pulp before his mom Esther had stepped in to stop the torture. Ever since his father had been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for multiple murder attempts, Esther had never stopped drinking and swearing at everything and everyone who had the misfortune of meeting her. She also started calling over her drinking buddies to the house which made it harder and harder for Winn to survive at home and retain his sanity at the same time. No matter how worse it got Winn had made up his mind to keep going for Esther's sake as well as his own. He kept his patience during the short relationships that Esther kept with her numerous boyfriends and did his best to cure her from the severe depression of losing her husband to such a lengthy prison sentence.**

 **He was lucky to find a warm blanket lent to him by a kind soul sitting next to him on the bus. The blanket was wonderfully warm and Winn only opened his eyes when he could see the familiar scent of Cinnamon trees which were spread all across the vast terrain of Opal city. Upon reaching his mother's house Winn felt great disappointment in finding out that his mom was seeing a little league baseball player called 'Lafferty'. The first sight of him filled Winn with absolute disgust. Standing next to the fridge Lafferty was earnestly gulping away one of the many bottles of booze that Esther kept in the fridge for all her boyfriends. When Esther tried to forcefully take it away from him, he gave her a hard shove that made her head collide with the fridges' bottom door. Winn never felt as enraged as the way he felt after that incident. He leapt at Lafferty swinging his fists with all his might, wanting to put a heavy dent on his face. But Lafferty was quick enough to first dodge Winn's attack and then knock the wind out of him with a sharp blow into the stomach. The impact was excruciating and poor Winn stumbled on the floor instantly, gasping and shaking violently like a fish taken out of water. He clutched his stomach with both hands and he was crying out from the intense pain.**

' **Leave him alone Lafferty. Stay away from him'. Esther was shrieking at the top of her lungs as she came in between Lafferty and Winn and went towards Winn to try and comfort him.**

' **It serves him right'. Lafferty was extremely furious and was continually giving Esther and Winn a menacing glare as he opened the refrigerator once more and took out yet another bottle of booze, striking quite a pose as he did it. Winn had an intense smirk on his face as he pulled his hands away from Esther when she tried to reach him.**

' **Winn, where are you going'? Esther looked completely shocked and baffled by this unexpected turn of events. She ran after Winn as he tore towards the bedroom and began to throw things out of Esther's purse with great force.**

' **Winn. Stop it. Stop it right now'. Esther cried as she tried to snatch the purse away from her son'.**

' **Or what mom' Winn screamed at her as he moved away from her reach with seething rage. 'All that you care about is keeping this damn roof over your head and making out with your filthy boy friends'.**

' **What did you say?' Lafferty said as he entered the room and smashed his fist against the room wall in fury.**

' **I will say what the damn hell I want to say. You got that.' Winn snapped angrily, clearly losing all his restraint after being through such a tormenting ordeal.**

 **Esther wailed loudly and pushed Lafferty with all her strength to prevent him from attacking her son again. With a look of complete rage and disgust on his face Winn pulled out a large handful of dollar bills from the purse and began to walk out of the house in a rush.**

' **Winn… Winn…get back here… you little'… Esther tore towards him trying to yank him away from the exit door that led to the house terrace outside. The dollar bills flew into the air as Winn tried to pull himself away from his mother who was using all her strength to prevent him from walking away.**

 **Lafferty laughed loudly and clapped his hands together as Esther sent a barrage of blows on Winn's chest in her fury. 'You insolent, ungrateful….'**

' **Just…Stop!', 'Right now'. Winn was now at the highest point of his fury. Even a frat punk like Lafferty suddenly became grim and Esther had a puzzled and alarmed look on her face since she had never seen her son act as angry as this before. Winn had a crazy look in his eyes… the seething rage inside him could be clearly seen boiling inside them. Wrinkles had madness written all over his face due to the rage that he felt at the present time.**

 **Both Esther and Lafferty watched in stunned silence as Winn began to pick up bill after bill and stuff it inside a small zip pocket on the rear end of his backpack. Lafferty was silent for a while but the shock of seeing Winn in such a dangerous rage was now beginning to wear off and be slowly replaced by a hateful feeling as he saw all the money he had been planning to use get stuffed inside the back pack of this stupid kid who had suddenly popped into the house without any intimation.**

 **When Winn had nearly stored half of the bills Lafferty could no longer take the torture anymore. Like a wild mob in a demonstration he dashed towards Winn and pushed him roughly in the centre of his chest. The force of the blow was too strong for Winn to avoid falling hard on his back onto the floor.**

' **Clear out of this house right now'. Lafferty said in a loud and angry voice.**

' **This isn't your house man'. Winn retorted sarcastically making a comical face at Lafferty as he spoke the words. Lafferty totally lost his cool after that and sucker punched Winn straight in the face.**

' **Stop it laff…Oh… I can't deal with this'…. Esther wailed and cried piteously grabbing a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a lighted cigarette in the other.**

' **Mom… please… hear me out', Winn pleaded with his mother as a trickle of blood began to run down from his lips. 'Just leave… please just stay away… far away'…. Esther shook her head and put a hand on her face as she sighed with a face full of hurt and despair.**

' **But… but… mom… where am I going to go'? Winn said in a choked and angry voice.**

 **Esther said nothing as Lafferty scowled at him and slammed the door in his face after pushing him away from the entrance towards the house terrace outside.**

 **Winn stood shell shocked and dumbfounded for a few minutes, he glanced at the gravel that was spread across the entire length and breadth of the terrace. He looked at the sky, struggling to shield his eyes from the blazing sun. He had a sudden urge to tap forcefully at the entrance door, throw Lafferty across the street, call 911 emergency, have his mother admitted into a mental institution and take possession of the house all by himself. But common sense prevailed and he forced himself to remain stranded in his tracks. He stood motionless with a pained expression on his face looking up at the heavens, the blazing sun overhead piercing through his eyes as he looked. Then when the sharp sunlight became too much for his naked eyes to handle he blinked vividly and finally looked away, dismay and sheer despair engulfed his entire being like a heavy blanket of fog spread all across a vast and empty sea. He walked with slow and steady steps and a heavy heart out of a house where he had spent his entire childhood. As he stood outside on the street he pictured the entire structure one last time before he began a lonely journey like a lonely sailor making his way through a vast and treacherous expanse of unchartered waters.**

 **He kept walking until he reached the bus stand on the main road. The Winslow house was situated in the center of Opal City so nearly all the buses stopped there for passengers who intended to ply to different areas all over the city. Winn felt a sudden pang of shock and fear as he looked nervously at the small stack of cash he had managed to scramble from Esther and Lafferty at the Winslow residence. 'Barely enough to cover me for a month's food', Winn whispered under his breath as he sat waiting for the South City express which was due to arrive in a few minutes.**

' **Where to sonny'? Winn looked towards his right and found out that an old man sitting next to him had spoken the words. He had a moustache and a wrinkled old face. He wore a faded trench coat and was vigorously puffing away at his pipe when he stared back at Winn behind a pair of neatly polished spectacles.**

' **I'm headed south'. Winn replied curtly, not at all being in the mood for any small talk especially at such a low and vulnerable point in his life.**

 **The old man nodded and took a glance at his rather old fashioned wrist watch to see the amount of time left before the bus arrival. The old man and Winn were the only two people sitting at the bus stand at that time. Winn was trying really hard to avoid showing the overwhelming anxiety and panic that he was feeling at that time. More than half an hour had passed away since his arrival at the bus stand and after having looked more than five times at his rather modest looking cell phone he scratched his head in frustration and took out his wallet to once again count the handful of dollar bills he had snatched from his mother and her menacing boyfriend. As he was counting the bills he realized that it wasn't a good idea because it only intensified the anxiety even further.**

' **I've been on the road since I was an infant'. Winn glanced sharply at the old man who was staring at him with a twinkle in his light blue eyes. Winn felt pissed at the old man at first for distracting him like that but then being the kind and considerate person that he was he decided to gather himself and respond calmly. 'I see. That's rather disturbing'.**

 **The old man had a wry smile as he saw the clearly nervous look on Winn's face when the latter replied to him. Just then they heard a blaring horn in the distance followed by the enormous image of the South City express which had finally arrived at the bus stop.**

 **Winn and the old man boarded the large locomotive as soon as it came to a halt near the bus stop.**

' **Hardly enough young men left in this country to care for the elderly'. The old man's twinkling eyes seemed to laugh in unison with his mouth as Winn courteously allowed him to board first. After he climbed inside Winn found out that the bus was completely occupied apart from a couple of merged seats at the rear end. The old man had already occupied one of them and was signaling Winn to sit on the other one next to him. Winn wasn't happy about the unpleasant situation in which he found himself. He had been secretly hoping to stay away from the man and be able to forget about him as soon as he arrived at Roulette where he had planned to meet up with an uncle. To Winn's further dismay the man had just lit up a cigar and was about to go for his first puff of the trip downtown.**

' **Hey. I don't mean to be rude sir. But can you please not smoke in here right now?' Winn said in a voice which he couldn't stop from being inappropriately loud. The man took off his glasses and stared at Winn with a little smile while raising the side window with his right hand. After the window was fully open the man then proceeded to stretch his head out for a second before releasing a cloud of smoke into the atmosphere.**

' **How about that young man'? He asked rhetorically after sitting up straight on his seat once again.**

' **It still doesn't make it right'. Winn said in a much more assertive tone since he was now a lot more angry than polite especially after realizing that he was stuck with the old man for at least another half an hour before he exited from the stupid bus.**

 **The old man gave Winn a funny look before laughing out with all his heart and then much to Winn's surprise he drew out his hand for a shake instead of retorting.**

' **My name is Oswald Rickman'. The hand shake got Winn a bit off guard which much to his disappointment made him stammer a little as he responded to the introduction.**

' **I am pleased to meet you Winn'. Oswald said enthusiastically.**

' **Where exactly are you headed?' Oswald said It with a raised eyebrow which was especially prominent as it jutted out quite clearly from the top of his shades.**

' **Roulette'. Winn replied very shortly since he was quite clearly not in the mood for any kind of conversation given his precarious predicament. Oswald kept attempting to make conversation as the bus trudged along at a slow pace towards Roulette much to Winn's frustration and disappointment. Winn was making sure that he did not pay any serious attention to Oswald's comments and he was really being successful in achieving that objective until he suddenly looked jolted by a sharp vibration that buzzed from his cell phone.**

 **Winn looked alarmed after looking at the words 'Cousin Jeff calling' that he felt were literally bouncing out of the mobile screen into his eye sockets.**

 **He cancelled a couple of times but the caller at the other end was annoyingly persistent so in a desperate attempt to prevent Oswald from being dangerously curious; Winn reluctantly picked up the call when his phone vibrated for the third time.**

' **Oh… hi… Jeff… heh.. heh… how did you… ah... why did you call me all of a sudden'. Winn stammered uneasily.**

 **Jeff was Winn's only uncle who also lived in Opal City in the Roulette area. Just like his elder sister Jeff also had a rather mean and unpleasant personality. Being knee deep in financial issues he had resorted to excessive drinking and swearing since the past few months. He lived alone in a ramshackle apartment in the tiny and unpleasant vicinity of Roulette since the past few months after his wife had finally abandoned him after the constant and never ending abuse that he kept giving to her and their daughter Megan. She had successfully sued him for Megan's custody and possession of their property in Manhattan. After taking this heavy blow Jeff had begged and pleaded with Esther and Mr. Winslow to loan him some money so that he could buy his own property and make an honest effort to start over again. Being a twisted and sly man himself, Winslow had easily predicted Jeff's devious intentions. Winslow knew that Jeff was not the kind of person who would return anything back to anyone so he had been very forceful at first in refusing the loan but due Esther's blind trust in her brother he had to cave in and part with the money eventually. Jeff had made a vow to the Winslows that he would return the money as soon as his financial situation improved but as per his past behavior he refused to abide by this promise. Now Winn was headed towards Jeff's house to demand the same amount of money that he still owed to his family. He had planned to go there unannounced to put Jeff off his guard and perhaps persuade him to provide the money which he so badly needed to start fresh in Opal City.**

 **However, Lafferty who knew all about this situation (thanks to Esther's drunkenness and naivety) had forced Esther to call Jeff and ask him to refuse the money to Winn.**

' **I won't let that little pest snatch it away before I retrieve every single dime from your cunning weasel of a brother'. Lafferty had said threateningly to Esther before she called Jeff in a shaken state and told him exactly what Lafferty wanted her to say. Jeff was not the slightest bit amused to receive Esther's call but he listened intently to her message when he found out what was at stake. He decided to launch a preemptive strike and called Winn straight after saying foul stuff to Esther and hanging up on the previous conversation that he was having with her.**

 **Now in the present scenario Winn was struggling with this unpleasant call from his uncle. He was trying hard to be as curt as he possibly could while at the other end Jeff screamed and yelled at Winn to his heart's content taking full advantage of Winn's meek and uncomfortable response at the other end of the line. Winn's reluctance to snap back at Jeff and release the boiling rage inside him was simply due to his fear that he was being so closely scrutinized by Oswald who was sitting mere inches away from him. When the abuse became too much for Winn to handle he finally managed to stammer a panicky goodbye and hang up the call in a hurry. However, Winn had no idea that Oswald had managed to listen in on the entire conversation that he had just had with his uncle. It was the silence in the bus, the strong connection during the call and the bellowing voice of Winn's uncle that had allowed Oswald to unintentionally eavesdrop on the entire conversation that had lingered on quite painstakingly for at least ten minutes. Having managed to hear every word, Oswald now knew just about everything regarding Winn's current predicament.**

 **He felt a rush of sympathy and kindness towards the disturbed and anxious young man whom he had met barely two hours ago. Oswald was especially shocked to find out how Winn had had to abandon his rented apartment in National City and rush over here to beg his mother to give him a place to stay. It was so unfair that he had been kicked out like that from his parents' home. 'It's beyond tragical'. Oswald shuddered as he thought about the intense misery he would have been feeling if he had been in Winn's shoes right now. Oswald decided at that moment that he would make sure that he took Winn into his shelter. 'This poor kid does not deserve to get strangled out there in the city slums at night'. Oswald murmured under his breath with a rather grave expression upon his face. So when the bus conductor finally cried 'Roulette' Winn was startled to feel Oswald's firm grip on his shoulder.**

' **Hey, old man. What the hell is wrong with you?' Winn said in a hushed and puzzled tone.**

' **You're coming home with me son'. Oswald had a firm and extremely determined look in his eyes as he spoke the words. Winn felt enraged for a moment or two but Oswald did not allow him to resist any further than that. Pushing Winn back onto his seat Oswald filled him in on all the things he had overheard between him and his uncle.**

 **Oswald was well aware that Winn would still try to resist and attempt to march away on his own like a hot headed and egoistic young man so he stood firm on his demand that Winn should agree to stay with him at his residence until he was capable enough to find and have his own. Winn finally caved in after some intense persuasion from Oswald whose sentences were starting to become angry as the Coast View area of Opal City drew closer and closer. Winn had realized after a heated exchange with Oswald in undertone that this offer was a lot better for him especially considering how shockingly difficult it would be for him to survive on his own without work and just a handful of dollar bills to live on. Even though Winn was afraid to show It he really was feeling a sudden gush of gratitude towards Oswald for rescuing him from the miserable situation which he had just shortly been facing. Winn felt a wave of sadness wrapping itself all over him when he thought about how he would miss National City and how painful it would be for him to be separated from everyone he loved over there especially Kara. He pictured Kara's pouting face whenever he was feeling distressed and had to turn towards her for help. How Kara would hold his hand and give him a nice pep talk for hours at her apartment while he patted Chester on the head as the sweet kindly faced Labrador placed his little head on Winn's lap. However, this time Winn knew that he had to get by on his own. 'I must do this without you Kara. As much as I miss you and would give anything to be with you, I need to go my separate way now. I'm not worth the trouble you'll have to endure if you found out about me and my monumental problems'. Winn thought to himself remorsefully. Just then the bus conductor finally gave the call for 'Coast view' which was his and Oswald's cue to depart from the bus. 'Just out of curiosity Oswald; even if you managed to eavesdrop on the conversation don't you think you're acting a lot like Atticus right now?' Winn asked cynically just after both of them had dropped down onto the sidewalk along with the last of the passengers on board the South City express.**

' **Why are you so interested in Atticus all of a sudden, huh'? Oswald's eyes gleamed behind his glasses and a wide grin formed on his face.**

 **Winn said nothing and just shrugged 'because you're acting like Atticus'. He said making a dubious face before saying those words. 'You've been talking all nice to me since we met and now you're forcing me to stay with you with no strings attached… at least apparently'. Winn eyed Oswald suspiciously. 'It beats me how you could just drag me along with you like that?'**

 **Winn was feeling really grim at that point and Oswald could clearly read that from his eyes.**

 **Oswald encouraged Winn to continue with his rant by not saying anything to him in reply.**

' **What's your wife going to say when she finds out about me, huh? What about accommodation? I mean…heh…do you have any spare room or do I sleep in the dog house with Rex? And…and… what about expenses? Or food or….. Winn had to abruptly stop his verbal tirade when Oswald gave him a sudden and sharp thump on the back.**

' **Hey… what was that for?' Winn had an annoyed look on his face as he rubbed the shoulder which had just been jolted by Oswald's thumping blow. Oswald's face was beaming as he shook Winn's right shoulder after stopping his train of words. 'Leave all of that to me son'. He said a big wide chuckle emerging from his kindly looking face. After that he walked in front of Winn and faced him with a wide smile. 'And now all that we need to focus on is the Pizza flavor that we are going to enjoy while we merrily trudge home like a band of triumphant Soldiers'. 'What flavor do you like'? Oswald said, narrowing his eyes at Winn playfully.**

' **I've lost my taste in pie since meeting you'. Winn said with a rather apparent smirk on his face which made Oswald laugh heartily as the two of them continued their stroll towards Oswald's house.**

 **Coast View looked bright and enchanting at this time of night. Silvery lights lit up the path way that Winn and Oswald were travelling through at that time, a full moon glistened brightly up ahead beaming its silvery light onto the landscape below and the soothing noise of the sea waves could also be heard coming from the beach nearby. Collectively the whole scenario was making Winn feel rather mellow and bittersweet, making him remember all the days he had spent in National City with Kara, James and the other people who had loved him and treated him like family. After they had walked for some time inside the area, Oswald suddenly motioned Winn to follow him. Winn found himself walking towards the beach side of the area as he began to follow Oswald. A long line of cars could be seen neatly parked together before the entrance to the beach. A long line of powerful flood lights illuminated the beach, making the whole place look more enchanting than ever. Oswald was walking towards a line of hot dog stands spread across the centre of the beach with a significant number of people flocked towards them. A scrumptious aroma rose from the stands as the sausages were being thoroughly cooked and packed in front of their ravenous consumers.**

 **Winn was surprised to notice that Oswald had ignored the stands in front of him and walked towards one particularly attractive woman who was chatting away merrily with a few teenage girls while grilling sausages at the same time.**

 **Winn was wondering how Oswald had managed to stay so lean and fit considering he had the appetite to consume hot dogs and pizzas during night time hours.**

' **Beautiful night, Evelyn', said Oswald, looking brightly at the attractive woman, his smile becoming broader while he saw Winn making an angry face at him from behind.**

' **Hi, Oswald', Evelyn replied merrily.**

' **Surprising to see you here at this time of night, and whose this handsome looking young man next to you?. Winn's face started to become red as he heard the words of praise.**

 **Oswald couldn't help laughing loudly seeing Winn's comical expression.**

' **Oh, this is my nephew Winn from California'.**

 **They stayed with Evelyn for a while and listened to her talk about her daily activities while munching away at the scrumptious sausages that she had prepared for them. Winn was surprised to find out that he too was really enjoying Evelyn's company. Being a feminist he loved meeting up with strong women who successfully juggled their work and personal lives on a daily basis and judging by the she was talking it clearly seemed to Winn that Evelyn was one of them.**

 **However, despite all this Winn was still feeling anxious and heartbroken about being away from his life back in National City. It was like a deep hole in his heart, preventing him from being fully entertained by the serene and heartwarming occasion that he was experiencing with Evelyn and Oswald.**

 **Evelyn gave both of them a warm hug before waving and saying goodbye to them as the crowd began to get thin and the other hot dog stands on the beach began to close up for the night.**

' **You sure know how to waste time old man'. Oswald just had a blank expression on his face, his eyes having a piercing look in them as Winn spoke those words in his typical sarcastic manner.**

' **Well my friend, you better brace yourself. A lot more time wasting is yet to follow'. Oswald replied giving Winn a gentle tap on the back.**

 **They did not have to walk for long after heading away from the beach and so it wasn't long before Winn found himself staring down a quiet little street at a large brightly colored bungalow. Winn felt a sudden bittersweet sensation jolt inside his body as he saw the pink paint spread across the perimeter of the roof and the nicely designed balcony on the top story where neatly arranged flower pots stood in single file, their brightly colored leaves glistening in the yellowish light which was flickering down from the ceiling bulbs.**

 **Winn's mind was going back to the days which he had spent as a child at the Winslow residence. He remembered just how similar that house looked compared to the one that he was seeing just now.**

' **Now don't look all downcast and mellow right now my friend'. Oswald commented with a sympathetic grin on his face. 'You need to brighten up your spirits for the pepperoni that's waiting for us with my daughter Rachel and his fiancé'. Winn replied with a wry smile in return as Oswald wrapped his arm around Winn's shoulder and they reached right up to the entrance door of the warm welcoming house right in front of them.**

 **4**

 **Kara was using her heat vision to warm up the pizza from the fridge. It was a cold and murky night in National City and there had been sheets of rain and heavy winds earlier in the day. Normally Kara used the microwave for these menial tasks especially since she now no longer felt any thrill when she used her super powers to get things done but National City was without power due to the hailstorm and that forced her to use her powers to heat up the pizza. In the tray that she was now carrying, there was a box of donuts, a few pot stickers and along with them the warm slices of pizza that she had just heated up using her heat vision. Close to the dining table where she placed the tray were James, Lucy, John Jonzz, Mike and Alex; all huddled together on the comfy sofa which was quite close to a large sized heater in Kara's dining room. Winn's beloved Chester was kneeling on the floor, his eyes downcast and his furry dog face in a state of deep dark gloom which could be very much said about all the other living creatures present in Kara's house at that time. Lucy who had been silently tapping away at her cell phone as she sat next to James, got up and helped Kara set the table when she saw her coming towards them with the tray in her hands.**

 **James ruffled Mike's hair and patted Chester's back to soothe them up for dinner. Alex and John also joined the others, getting up in unison for the meal.**

 **It had nearly been two weeks since Winn had left National City, Kara and James had scanned every inch of the city for Winn, they had asked all his contacts for intel and had even gotten Kara's cousin Clark A.K.A Superman to hunt for him in Metropolis. But sadly, there was still no luck and all their sources had given them nothing. Alex's girl friend Maggie Sawyer who worked for the NCPD had used her contacts to scout for all the known addresses within the state with the name 'Winslow' and the precinct in Winn's neighborhood did in fact manage to send a group of officers to his residence. But Lafferty, a washed up little league baseball player turned drug dealer could sense 'precinct' from a mile away, and that's why when the officers rapped at the front door, all they could see was a frazzled looking lanky young man in a simple night gown with a nervous look on his face.**

 **Lafferty was feeling extremely proud of himself underneath the fake façade that he had just so successfully displayed to the solemn looking and emotionless officers standing outside the door. After just a few light questions they excused themselves and even apologized to Lafferty for bothering him like that.**

' **It was ah… completely alright officers. It is forever my civilian duty to assist the authorities whenever I can'. Lafferty scratched his beard and gave them a subtle wave as the big flashy police car pulled out of the drive way, its headlights flashing brightly and its sirens blaring loudly in the distance. Once the police car was completely out of sight, the pleasant look on Lafferty's face abruptly changed into a nasty looking smirk. With a loud roar he tore into the house in great fury and began to break the wine bottles in the fridge one by one on the floor. Seeing Lafferty in this state his close friend Dylan rushed to the scene to stop him. Esther also rushed behind Dylan loudly screaming swear words at Lafferty as she arrived. However, Lafferty proved to be too strong and hysterical to get taken down, with a forceful blow he sucker punched Dylan who fell down with his head slamming violently against the floor.**

' **You turned the police against me woman. Huh! You turned the 'DAMN' police against me'. Lafferty swung his hand against a flower vase which splattered onto the floor with a deafening crash.**

' **Love, please… please… easy…' , Esther put a hand in front of him with a panicked expression on her face, taking a few quick puffs of her cigarette as she backed away from him in alarm.**

' **Please!' she screamed before the lights went out as Lafferty crashed a heavy blow onto her face with his right fist.**

' **Huh'… Kara suddenly jerked herself up onto her bed, perspiration trickling down from her forehead. It was really hot in the room now since the storm had passed away long ago and the heat was back to normal. Kara also realized that she hadn't opened her ceiling fan since she had gone to sleep before the power got restored.**

 **Feeling restless she decided to go up to the roof and get some air. 'It really must be unbearably hot tonight, for me to be getting such a sweat'. Kara thought as she opened her front door to fly. She felt better at the top because a strong wind was blowing which was giving a cool and comforting effect to her surroundings. She walked around the perimeter carrying a small bottle of coke in her hand that she continued to sip from time to time. Kara felt rather down in her spirits since so much time had gone by since Winn's absence. 'Ah... Winn if only you had reached out to me. Why did you have to go through this alone.' She sighed as she gently used her freeze breath to chill up her remaining drink. She had a melancholy feeling as she gazed around the humungous city that was spread before her at that light night our. Glancing at her cellphone, she found out that it was nearly 3 in the morning. It felt very eerie and lonesome to her to see thousands upon thousands of**

 **flickering lights in the vast dark emptiness of the night. She closed her eyes and concentrated on all the sounds that could be heard in that eerie stillness, the bark of a small house dog in some distant home in another neighborhood, shared laughter between a young couple deeply in love, the cry of a peacock, some late night shoppers and joy riders doing their best to party away their everyday sorrows. 'Come on Winn'. She said in a fit of rage and then let go with a deep sigh and a wide smirk on her face.**

 **'You don't have to let it deject you Kara'. called out an all too familiar voice up from where she was standing. 'Kal'. she beamed as she saw her handosome younger cousin drown down beside her. Neither of them were in their superhero suits so they both felt somewhat weird standing side by side in their night overalls at such a late hour.**

 **'It's weird seeing you come all the way out here from Metropoiis, Kal'.**

 **Clark had a wry smile on his face as he walked closer to Kara.**

 **'Well, I got a note from Jimmy a few days ago. said it was urgent'.**

 **Kara nodded solemnly looking down at her feet.**

 **'Winn's been missing Kal'.**

 **'What! when'.**

 **Kara filled him in on all the details. How Winn had left all of a sudden without saying goodbye. How they had searched for him all over National City but to no avail. Clark took in all the details with a grave look on his face. He felt upset knowing that Kara and his others friends had been through so much in his absence.**

 **'I know how hard this must be for you Kara. Makes me sad knowing that I wasn't there to support you'.**

 **Kara put her hand on Clark's shoulder telling him it wasn't his fault. And that she wanted to do it on her own without luring him into the search.**

 **'Kal I realize how close Winn is to you and how much you wanted to help him. I'm sorry I should've told you a lot sooner'.**

 **Clark was still optimistic that they could locate him. 'I'll get the daily planet to work on it. Lois will be so keen on this task'. Clark chuckled curtly.**

 **'Why would Lois want to help so much? Not that I'm complaining'. Kara stretched her arms with cynicism as she spoke.**

 **'Lois is short of assignments. This will help her through the stalemate'. Clark laughed heartiiy. Kara only responded with a wry smile and then started to focus again for Winn's voice using her superhearing ability.**

 **'Let's do it together. One of us may just get a lucky hit'. Clark said waving his arms to sound convincing.**

 **Kara only frowned at him in reply as she continually paced around the massive roof of the building taking a quick swig from her coke time and again as she walked.**

 **'I'm surprised that John hasn't been able to locate him yet'.**

 **'His powers are severely deplted Kal. He got a bad burn out after sending M'gan back to Mars using his psyche ability'.**

 **'That's too bad. How's he feeling?'.**

 **'Well he's doing better at least. Just not enough for us to pin a location on Winn'.**

 **Clark's focus got interrupted as Kara gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.**

 **'Aww Kara. Hey I said I was trying'. Clark frowned at her with a sideways glance.**

 **However, he quickly began to brighten up after hearing what Kara had to tell him.**

 **He lauded the idea that they link their superhearing through a psychic connection to find Winn.**

 **'I'll call John to meet us right now and teach us how to do it'. Kara said with renewed hope. John seemed rather dismal when he arrived, both Kara and Clark knew how he must be feeling. As director of the DEO he always felt that it was his duty to ensure that his staff were protected and rescued from danger as rapidly as possible. And now he had to live with the guilt of being unable to locate Winn and rescue him using his pyschic abilities.**

 **Kara smiled at him reassuringly, as he started linking her and clark's super hearing abilities.**

 **'We'll find him John. You can count on it'. Clark said patting his arm.**

 **John smiled at them curtly. 'Good luck both of you'.**

 **He flew back to the DEO once again, as both Supergirl and Superman started their quest with renewed vigor. Despite his past differences with Clark, John felt a sense of faith and trust towards him and a more hopeful feeling that it won't be long before Winn would finally be found.**

 **It felt weird for Kara to be able to feel Clark's spirit and his hearing in her mind. It was like she hearing had doubled due to the connection. She realized that Clark was having the same feelings as her. As Kara had predicted their combined energy was now allowing them to access the sounds that came from much longer and far flung distances. The human voices they heard felt like a tidal wave of screeching bats engulfing their entire existence from all sides. It gave Kara a wave of great joy to know that she could now hear people from as far as Opal and Starling City due to the extra power from the connection. The new barrage of voices came to her from 'Laker Baseball stadium', the 'Megaplex 3D Cinema' and 'Mayfair Carnival' all of whom were located in Opal City. She took a quick look at Clark and found a wry satisfied looking smile on his face. It appeared that he too was enjoying the extra hearing from their connection. They stayed connected for quite a while, each doing their best to catch as many voices as possible. It was easier said than done and as they dug deeper it became more and more difficult for them to make out the words being said. Both of them knew from experience how to extract the voices they wanted to hear from all magnified and muffled human voices that rammed into their ears. But in this case it was proving to be extra difficult due to the sheer volume of the noise coming from multiple cities. Kara was beginning to feel frustrated and she felt like asking Clark to give up trying as well when suddenly it felt like she heard a rather feeble sound that seemed like Winn.**

 **'Kal. wait. don't stop.' Clark, glanced at her with a puzzled expression on his face.**

 **'I don't hear anything Kara'. He was surprised to see a bright expression on her face.**

 **'Kal. I heard Winn'.**

 **'You sure... you did'. Clark replied enthusiastically.**

 **'Yes. keep concentrating. Come on'. She said really keen on urging him to continue.**

 **Clark began listening with renewed strength, he felt much more hopeful after Kara's intimation about hearing Winn. At first he was once again listening to the same old muffled voices but then he too heard the same noise. It was indeed Winn's voice, a very faint feeble sound like a scrambled radio transmission.**

 **'Did you hear it, Kal?**

 **Clark nodded in reply. 'You were right it's too feeble. It's too far'. He shook his head in anguish.**

 **'Let's remain focused on it. Listen harder'.**

 **Despite their persistence, it still took them a while before they finally managed to make sense of the words that Winn was speaking.**

 **They both listened intently once the voice struck their super ear drums in adequate volume.**

 **It appeared as if Winn was strolling outdoors since they heard a lot of rustling noises that come from tree leaves and the occasional eerie hoot of an Owl perched on a tree branch waiting for its next unfortunate victim.**

 **Winn seemed anxious and disturbed, he seemed to be trying to convince someone on the phone to make them agree to something.**

 **'Yea. I know but...**

 **'Yes. Yes. I have worked in IT'.**

 **'No. but. I can adjust in Coast City'.**

 **Upon hearing the words 'Coast City' they both exchanged meaningful stares. Now it would be a lot easier to track him down.**

 **They kept listening in for a little while longer and heard Winn continue with his desperate rant to land a new job.**

 **Kara tried her best to urge Clark to continue hearing, but the sheer effort was now finally beginning to take its toll on the both of them.**

 **Kara saw that Clark looked in discomfort as he pulled himself away from the connection and She realized that She too was feeling rather exhausted from all the effort.**

 **'Ah... how are you feeling Kara'. Clark said looking at her with perspiration dripping down from his hair and face.**

 **'Knocked out like you, Kal'. She replied slowly, letting out a little chuckle and giving him a playful punch on the shoulder as She spoke.**

 **Clark joined her in the laughter.**

 **'Well. thank goodness for John's help. We finally found out about him'. Clark put his arm around Kara as they both gave their worn out legs a much needed stretch by going back to Kara's apartment through a long flight of stairs.**

 **The building seemed a lot less hot and humid now that the power had finally been restored.**

 **Clark was so relieved to feel the soothing ice cool waves of Kara's split air conditioner that he actually flew up towards it and stuck his head into the outlet much to Kara's amusement.**

 **They both sat facing each other on the dining table casually sipping away at the chocolate milk shakes from 'Noonans' that Kara had just taken out from her fridge.**

 **'Nothing like a good dose of milk shake and cool air waves to rejuvenate the spirit'.**

 **Clark remarked taking a long sip from his straw after he spoke.**

 **He felt very glad to see Kara's relieved and smiling face looking back at him.**

 **It clearly looked as if the good news, her present comfy surroundings and the fact that Clark was sitting with her had left her in a relaxed and cheerful mode.**

 **'I can't believe we finally found him Clark'. Kara raised and stretched her arms with a beaming and relaxed look.**

 **'When I got your message I was harrowed just like you were Kara. And now it just feels so good to me when I realize that we can finally restore such a good and kind hearted soul back to where he belongs'.**

 **Kara nodded at him with a deeply emotional look on her face.**

 **'You know what, let's both go to Coast City tomorrow. And bring Winn back safe and sound'.**

 **Clark smiled placing his hand on hers for comfort.**

 **'No. No. Kal. You've done more than enough. And besides you need to go back to Lois'.**

 **Clark still had an uncertain and worried look on his face.**

 **'I'll be fine, really'. Kara smiled, patting Clark's face as she spoke.**

 **'Go. Be with Lois'.**

 **Clark looked at her with his nicest expression and then vanished into the skies in less than a second. Kara had a bittersweet expression on her face after seeing him leave. Those few moments she had spent being with Clark had temporarily taken away her loneliness but now she was once again feeling that big wide hole in her heart. But despite all the pain, she had an eagerness to find her best friend.**

 **'Hang in there Winn. wherever you are. I will find you I promise'.**

 **Winn had spent a few days recuperating in his new surroundings. It had been a rough few days for him due to the trauma of leaving his home town and then having being driven away by his mom to the streets. This seemed like a chance for him to start a new life in a new place where no one knew about his past. He felt a gr8 deal of appreciation for Oswald for being so kind and generous to give him a new home and rescuing him from his predicament. Kara and Clark had correctly assumed earlier that Winn was involved in an argument on his cellphone. When they heard him he was talking to an HR person who represented a potential employer company in the IT industry. Winn was trying his luck for a new job all by himself in the new city. Despite Oswald's noble intentions he wanted to make sure that he started a new job without any help. Earlier that day Winn had contacted some movers to transport his household stuff to Oswald's residence. He had insisted that the job be done quietly and in secrecy and was thankful that the movers had an old relationship in Oswald which made it a lot easier for him to enforce his terms. In the present moment he was in the dining room of the Oswald house perched on a cosy chair underneath the bright white gleam of the chandelier hanging above the dining table.**

 **'Winn. Please have a helping of these pot stickers. It's our household specialty'. said Mrs. Oswald smiling at Winn from across the table.**

 **'You won't be disappointed'. Oswald's daughter Alice added.**

 **'Ah, well. I always liked pot stickers so it's all really good'.**

 **'See I always bring in the perfect strays Laura'. Oswald said teasingly giving Winn a playful punch on the shoulder as he spoke.**

 **'Oh. For heaven's sake Oswald. Let the poor boy eat'. Laura said slapping the old man on his back with a smirk on her face.**

 **The time spent at dinner was really enjoyable and Winn realized that this was the finest meal he had had in quite a long time. Laura was an expert cook and she knew how to make a variety of delicious dishes. That was why at the end of the meal Winn had helped himself to a fine filling of Sardines, Pot stickers, sausages and deep fried chicken. And to the great amusement of his three hosts he also had a sharp burp after the meal.**

 **'Better start a healthy exercise regime young man. Otherwise you're bound to turn plump very soon'. Oswald remarked laughing loudly as he spoke. Winn only looked around sheepishly at the three and joined their laughter with a quiet chuckle.**


End file.
